Gamer's Soul
by HaveBookWillTravel
Summary: Not many people know what happens when you die. I can't speak for everyone, but when I kicked the bucket, I found myself in Karakura Town with the powers of The Gamer. I don't know how it happened, all I know is that it did, and now I'm stuck here. It's not all bad, I get to beat up zombies, hang out with some pretty interesting characters, and attempt to defy a would-be god. SI
1. Death is Cheap, Ramen is Cheaper

**Author's Note:** So this is what happens when I read fanfiction at one in the morning and come across a challenge. I have little to no self-control, as some of my dear readers may already know, and it's an interesting challenge that I've already been thinking of doing for a while now anyway.

 **Disclaimer:** I own neither the Bleach franchise nor The Gamer web comic. It's fanfiction, folks. It's right there in the website name.

 **Warnings:** This story assumes you, the reader, possess good knowledge of Bleach and The Gamer. Spoilers will more than likely happen, so watch out for those if you haven't caught up with either of the story lines. I have a pretty filthy mouth in real life, and as the main character of this fic is modeled after yours truly, the swear words will likely fly freely, as well as controlled substance use/abuse. You have been suitably warned.

* * *

 **Chapter 1:** **Death is Cheap, Ramen is Cheaper**

* * *

Sitting cross-legged under a tree in a park, I can't help but frown with my thoughts all scattered. For one thing, I have no idea where I am, which is most definitely a big problem. Another thing that worries me is that I'm a lot younger than I remember being before I woke up in this strange place; I know this because the beard I'd spent the last six months growing has vanished entirely (with only a pitiful excuse for a mustache remaining), along with the fact that my curly hair has grown down past my shoulders (something I haven't had since I was in my teens) and the much slimmer physique I now possess (and boy is it good to not have a beer belly anymore. Finally, and perhaps most concerning, is that I don't know how I got here in the first place.

That, in and of itself, isn't quite unique; I've gotten black-out drunk and wound up in some pretty interesting places before, but I don't remember drinking too heavily before this. In fact, my last memories involve pushing someone out of the way of oncoming traffic, intense pain, and then...nothing. It's still fuzzy, but I know that much.

The people around me are almost all Asian, probably Japanese, but I've never really been able to tell the difference between the various eastern nationalities on sight alone. My cousin used to live in Japan, teaching English there before coming back home with a brand-new bride, so I've got a vague understanding of the language, but for all I know, I'm just in some city's Japan-town.

So, either I'm in a coma, which is quite likely, given my recollection of an intimate encounter with an eighteen-wheeler's front-end, or I've been hit so hard I wound up in another country. For now, I think I'm just going to go with the coma theory, not least of which because everyone I see seems to have floating words and numbers above their heads.

It reminds me of something, but I just can't put my finger on it. A lot of my memories from before this place are garbled, like looking at a channel on a television that still uses rabbit-ear antennae to pick up signals. I remember the big stuff, my name, my family and friends, but the details still elude me. Hopefully, they'll come back in time; already they're much clearer than when I woke up here.

The bag I'd been carrying at the time of my accident is lying next to me, with everything I had in it, and all that I had in my pockets are still there. Unfortunately, my phone isn't picking up a signal and the emergency call function doesn't work. The money I have in my wallet is also worth about as much as the paper it's printed on here in the good old Land of the Rising Sun, and the only thing I have in my bag are a change of clothes, a couple books, a bottle of tequila, and a pouch that carries my weed supplies.

With a sigh, I lean back, pushing my bag under my head as a pillow, and stare up at the light filtering through the leaves above me. I've sure gotten myself into quite a pickle this time, that's for sure.

As I lay there, more memories trickle back into my consciousness. I was at a Halloween party, I remember now, which makes sense considering I'm dressed as a cowboy. That's what the tequila and pot was for. Someone had invited me to the thing, and since I had nothing better to do after taking my sister trick-or-treating, I figured it would be better than sitting at my computer reading fanfiction like I normally would have. It was a good time, that was for sure, and most of my small circle of friends had been there, which was a definite plus; I never got out much anymore, so seeing them and horsing around was always fun.

We'd been walking home, since we were all fairly buzzed, when the accident had happened. That was clear now. My best friend, who I had known since before I could remember, had been trailing behind the rest of the group, and had drunk more than the rest of us. He hadn't noticed the big semi barreling toward him, and I had acted on instinct, shoving him out of the way.

It was just as well, I suppose. He was a family man with a kid and a wife, while I had been single for years with not a prospect in sight. My family would miss me, I knew, but they had each other; they'd get through it, if I was actually dead and not in a coma. My littlest sister would take it the hardest, though. I'd practically raised her when our mom had proven (once again) that she wasn't exactly fit to be a caregiver. But our grandma would look after her from now on, and our other siblings would keep her steady.

I'm startled out of my thoughts by a soothing blue rectangle popping into existence above my face with words in a neat font emblazoned across it.

 **Through deep contemplation of your life, your WIS has increased by 1!**

For a while, I just read through it a couple times. That niggling at the back of my head due to the floating words above everyone's head has now become a cacophony of realization, and the coma theory just got a lot more plausible.

Because how else would I have suddenly gotten the ability of the protagonist of that Korean web comic I enjoy from time to time?

Well, in for a penny...

"Status," I croak out, hardly able to believe my eyes when a larger window, this time colored a neutral beige blinks into existence.

 **Name: Ricky Jimenez**  
 **Job: The Gamer**  
 **Level: Lv 1 Next Level: 0%**  
 **Title: None**

 **HP: 100/100**  
 **MP: 200/200**

 **STR: 5**  
 **VIT: 5**  
 **DEX: 5**  
 **INT: 10**  
 **WIS: 11**  
 **LUK: 10**

 **Points: 0**  
 **Money: ¥3206**

Huh.

I suppose this makes sense, me being in a coma and all. My mind would naturally construct a scenario to play out while my body heals (if it ever does). The statistic spread is about right, too. I've always been more intellectually-inclined, but my physical attributes were never really terrible either. Before, I was sort of a jack-of-all-trades type of person, pretty good at a lot of things, but exceptional at nothing. I guess my grasp of the English language was always above-average, though again never truly stood out. As for the LUK stat...well, I've always been pretty lucky, so that seems about right, too.

So, I've apparently gotten myself trapped in a coma dream where I'm somehow in Japan with The Gamer ability and a naturally magically-inclined build from the get-go. Well, it could be worse. I _do_ have a fondness for _A Song of Ice and Fire_ ; my mind could have conjured up Westeros for me, and wouldn't _that_ be all kinds of fun.

Next, I decide to check and see if I've got the same starting skills Jee Han had. "Skills," I mutter softly, not wanting to draw attention to myself as a schizo.

The Stat screen is replaced by the Skills window, and to my pleasant surprise, not only are Gamer's Mind and Gamer's Body present, but Instant Dungeon Create and Instant Dungeon Escape are there as well. The Gamer skills are both maxed, as expected, but the ID skills are each at level one.

Okay, time for the final check. "Inventory."

And there it is, grid-like rows of empty boxes, and a blank outline of myself on the left with more boxes to denote what I've got equipped. Glancing around as surreptitiously as I can to make sure no one's watching the weird foreigner, I pull out the extra shirt I have in my bag and touch it to the window. A ripple goes through it like a rock dropped into a pond as my shirt is absorbed, and when it's done, a cartoonish drawing of the same shirt is right there in the first box.

Despite this being a coma dream, it's still pretty amazing. Man, this is really cool. I'll probably think otherwise if I ever wake up with atrophied limbs and brain damage, but for now I think I can indulge a little.

Pants, underclothes, and shoes go into the Inventory next, followed by the books, tequila, and marijuana pouch. The bag itself I'll keep around for now, but I put my cowboy hat in as well, since I've been getting some odd looks from the locals. Thankfully, I never go all out when it comes to Halloween costumes; I've got some sturdy work boots and a fur-lined brown coat to go with the hat, but otherwise, I'm dressed as I normally would in a button-down flannel and some jeans.

Well, now that I know what's going on, more or less, I figure it's about time I find a place to stay, if I'm right in assuming I'll be here for a while.

Looking around, I try to puzzle out who would be most likely to speak English. From what I can remember, most schools in Japan have an English class, so anyone really. As I scan the people around me, another blue box pops up.

 **Through continuous observation, a skill to find the target's information, "Observe", has been created.**

Oh, that's right. I'd forgotten about this particular skill in the comic. Might as well test it out.

"Observe," I mutter, focusing on a middle-aged jogger with the words _Lv 10: Akiyama Kensuke_ , and a beige box reveals itself.

 **Akiyama Kensuke Lv 10**  
 **HP: 210, MP: 10**  
 **A salaryman with an enthusiasm for fitness, Kensuke particularly enjoys watching women using the Stair-Master machine at gyms.**

Wow, that was a little too much information, even if I've done the same from time to time n the rare occasions I've visited gyms. A glance at the sun tells me that it's only about one in the afternoon, so there's really no rush to find some shelter.

I decide to do something productive and work on my stats. I remember that various exercises can be done to increase STR, DEX, and VIT, and since they're my weakest stats at present, I'd do well to grind them up. As a child, my great-grandpa signed me up for the Young Marines, a sort of pre-military organization that tried to teach children discipline (I was a real little shit as a kid), and I remember the basics fairly well.

I start off with some push-ups and sit-ups, then emulate Kensuke and jog around the park once while Observing anything that catches my attention, then start it all over again. It takes about four hours by my estimation, but I manage to gain three points in STR and VIT, along with four levels in Observe. I can't remember what DEX requires for gaining points in, but I figure I'll find out soon enough.

With a sigh, my gaze moves toward the setting sun. I probably should have come up with a place to stay beforehand, but I'm a procrastinator by nature. This real-life (or coma-dream, I should say) grinding is a lot more difficult than I'd anticipated. So, steeling myself, I set off out of the park I'd woken up in and into the city.

After a few minutes of walking, I notice something incredibly odd. I hadn't paid any particular attention to the signs before, since I couldn't read Japanese if my life depended on it despite a few of my cousin's lessons, but when a flashing neon storefront caught my eye, I somehow knew it said Iroyama Sushi Bar.

Frowning, I cast my gaze around me and realize with a start that I can understand every billboard and street sign in sight. A thought occurs to me, and I wave down a passing twenty-something woman.

"Excuse me," I say with a slight bow (I really have no clue about Japanese customs or culture besides my limited knowledge of a few anime, so I decide to err on the side of caution). "But could you tell me what city I'm in?"

She raises an eyebrow, but nods with a gentle smile. "Sure, you're in Karakura Town. Your accent is really good for a foreigner, by the way."

"Ah, thanks," I reply, smiling rather mechanically as I try to process her words; at least I can understand her. "Have a nice day."

"You too," she answers, turning and heading on her way.

I keep walking, letting my feet switch to autopilot while I think. Karakura Town is a place from the Bleach anime. Is my brain mixing and matching genres to make a more interesting coma dream? It must be, since I'm pretty sure Karakura Town doesn't exist in real life.

Vaguely, I remember seeing a map of the place on the Bleach Wiki, but it was a while ago, and my memory was shoddy even before I started messing it up with booze and weed. I know that most of the main characters lived fairly close to one another close to the Karasu River, and that the Kurosaki Clinic was somewhere between that river and the Onose River, a little south of the old train station. On the other hand, the Urahara Shoten was way on the opposite side of town in the Mitsumiya district.

I suppose if anyone could help me, it'd be Urahara Kisuke and the band of exiles there. But do I really want to get mixed up with that crowd, especially considering the fact that Urahara was originally slotted to become the series' main antagonist?

Fuck yes, I did. It's not like there's anything else to do in a coma dream than go with the flow. First, though, I'd need something to pique the supernatural scientist's interest; I couldn't just show up at the shop empty-handed, after all.

So, I turn around and head back to the park. I hadn't realized how far I'd gotten until dusk began to settle down around the city. As I walk, I get an itch on the back of my neck, like someone's watching me, but when I turn around all I see is the early-evening foot traffic. I'm about to dismiss the feeling when a pink box pops up.

 **Your Gamer-Senses are tingling! Through a special action a new skill, "Danger Sense", has been created!**

I swipe the box away, now quite aware of my surroundings. I try to be as nonchalant as I can as I keep heading toward the park, crossing the street a couple times. Each time I do, I scan the crowds as casually as I can, and note three guys each time as they try not to look suspicious and avert their gaze whenever my eyes pass them.

It's only natural that they'd single me out; my dark skin instantly labels me as foreign, and tourists are more often than not easy marks. Unfortunately, they didn't take into account any supernatural abilities I might have.

Honestly, I'm a bit curious to see how my new (old?) body will handle a good old-fashioned street fight. Once upon a time, I took martial arts lessons, and managed to get all the way to the half-black belt rank before life got in the way, so I know how to handle myself in combat. However, there's always the chance that these guys have a weapon of some sort, not to mention the fact that I haven't practiced those self-defense moves in over a decade.

Then again, this is just a coma dream, so why the hell not?

Ducking into an alley, I lean against a wall beside a metal trash can and wait for them to catch up.

 **A quest has been created!**

Say what? My very first quest!

 **Of All the Dark Alleys in All the World, You Had to Walk into Mine.**

 **Objective:**  
 **Defeat the three muggers who have targeted you.**

 **Success:**  
 **50 Exp**

 **Failure:**  
 **\- ¥3206**

 **Bonus Objectives:**  
 **?**  
 **?**

 **Accept/Deny**

I can hear footsteps approaching, and quickly hit **Accept**.

The first one to come around the corner is _Lv 2: Watanabe Shinji_ , a slim guy about my height with light brown hair. Next comes _Lv 3: Kato Ryunosuke,_ built like a tank and carrying a skateboard. The two of them take flanking positions to the last one, _Lv 4: Yoshida Hiro_ , who looks like he the oldest of the three with dyed red hair and a self-important demeanor that would have had me pegging him as the others' leader even without the deference Shinji and Ryunosuke showed subconsciously.

"Hey, fellas," I say with a careless little wave. "How they hanging?"

My carefree attitude instantly sets them on edge, but Hiro quickly regains his smug expression.

"Oi, looks like we've got ourselves a feisty one, guys," he tells his mates. "Look, man. We don't want any trouble, so just give us your wallet and bag, and we'll have no problems."

Nodding, I pretend to think it over. "You three are awfully considerate," I acknowledge. "Back home, muggers would just shoot you in the back and leave you bleeding. I respect that. However, that being said, I can't just give you my stuff without a proper fight. I'm just not that kind of person."

Hiro smirks, withdrawing a blade the size of my whole hand, and the other two follow his lead. Shinji pulls out a butterfly knife, flicking it open with expert movements, while Ryunosuke hefts his skateboard like a two-by-four. "Can't say we didn't warn you," Hiro scolds, stepping forward.

I make my move just as he gets within stabbing distance, kicking the trash can up into his face and knocking him back into Ryunosuke. As Shinji turns to look at his buddies in astonishment, I ram the heel of my palm up into his chin while his guard is down and his teeth click shut loudly. Not giving him any opportunities, I shove my elbow into his gut, doubling him up, and finish with a punch to the back of his neck, dropping him like a sack of potatoes.

By the time I'm finished dispatching Shinji, though, the other two have recovered, and are looking pretty pissed. I swipe up the butterfly knife Shinji dropped and held it in front of me, hoping it appears like I know how to use it. I can use a staff pretty well, and I'd just recently gotten back into practicing with nun chucks, but knives and daggers were never my thing.

"You're going to regret that," Hiro grinds out, a vicious glare twisting his features. He lunges forward, leading with his blade, but when I dodge to the side, Ryunosuke blind-sides me with his board, and pain explodes across my face.

Stunned, I fall to the ground, barely keeping a grip on my pilfered knife. My thoughts whirl as I struggle to my hands and knees. You're not supposed to feel pain in coma dreams, are you? But if it's not a coma dream...

A sense I've never felt before screams at me to roll forward, and I obey instinctively, only just avoiding a second skateboard strike to the back. The side of my face throbs angrily, but I manage to ignore it, as well as the blue box that blinks open, swiping it closed as I lurch to my feet.

Ryunosuke charges at me, board raised, and this time I notice when Hiro follows in his wake, knife at the ready. As Ryunosuke takes his swing I feint left, and Hiro darts toward where I would have ended up. Instead, I spin the other way, raising my arm and taking the skateboard blow, using the butterfly knife to stab the big guy so deep into his upper arm I can feel the steel point scrape against his bone. A notification dings, but I shove it away; these things can really mess with a guy's concentration.

I fight the urge to wince in sympathy as Ryunosuke howls in pain, instead landing a kick to the back of his knee. When his patella hits the concrete with an audible crack, I do wince, and almost fail to spot Hiro coming in with an overhand cut.

Without thinking, I dive down, grabbing hold of his legs and pulling upward, sending him off balance and right to the floor. His back hits the ground first, and his breath leaves him all at once in a mighty _whoosh_ of air. Before he can react, I punch him square in the temple, knocking him clean out.

Three more notification boxes pop up, but I shove them away again, turning toward Ryunosuke, who's whimpering as he tries to staunch the bleeding from the stab wound I gave him while curling up to hold his shattered knee cap. I kind of feel bad, but they _had_ come at me with lethal weapons, and Ryunosuke decked me with...well, with a deck.

Still, I can't quite squash the pang of sympathy I feel, and slowly edge toward him. He tries to scramble away, but his busted knee won't let him.

"Look, I'm not going to do any more damage, bro," I say in as soothing a tone I can. "Here..." Using the butterfly knife, I rip the bottom portion of Shinji's jacket off and hold it out toward Ryunosuke's arm. "Is it alright if I wrap this around your arm?"

After a moment of hesitation, the big guy nods, sitting up closer to me. With my basic first aid knowledge, I use the makeshift tourniquet to stop the blood flow and then wipe the wound clean with the remainder. Another blue square appears, and again I wave it away.

A soft groan alerts me to Hiro's return to consciousness, and I quickly grab his knife and pocket it. Off to the side, Shinji stirs as well. Standing, I help Ryunosuke to his feet and help him lean against the wall in a way that doesn't cause more pain to his broken knee, then move to stand over Hiro and arrange my face in my best stern expression (and I can do a pretty good stern).

Hiro looks much less confident now that I've handed him and his partners their asses single-handed. I'm honestly pretty surprised that I was able to do that. His gaze skitters across to Shinji, who is rolling onto his side, then to Ryunosuke before returning to me.

"Have you learned your lesson?" I ask solemnly, making sure he can see the butterfly knife I still have clutched in my hand.

Slowly he nods, then grimaced and rubbed his temple. "You gonna call the cops now?" he grumbles dejectedly.

"No." My simple answer confuses all of them, and I hold my other hand out to him. After a moment, he takes it and I haul him to his feet. "I've done stupid shit myself over the years, and it'd be hypocritical of me to call the cops on anyone.

"Instead, I'll let you off with a warning." I pierce each one of them with a glare that must look pretty intimidating, as they all flinch away from it. "Don't throw away your lives doing this shit. Study, get good grades, do something with yourselves."

I move further into the alley and pick up Ryunosuke's skateboard from where it rolled after I dropped the big fella and hand it to Hiro. "Use this to help your buddy there to the closest hospital; he got it worst of all, and probably can't make it on his own." I then show him the butterfly knife and the larger knife he had used. "I'm keeping these as insurance that you stop with this foolishness."

I pause long enough to make sure they all understand, then jerk my head to the alley's entrance. "Go on."

It doesn't take Shinji and Hiro long to load Ryunosuke onto his skateboard and push him out as fast as they can, and I breath a sigh of relief. That had taken a lot more out of me than I'd thought.

 **Quest Complete: Of All the Dark Alleys in All the World, You Had to Walk Into Mine!**

 **Objective:**  
 **Defeat the muggers who have targeted you: Completed.**

 **Bonus Objectives:**  
 **Patch up at least one of your muggers after defeating them: Completed.**  
 **Give the misguided boys a lecture that will turn their lives around: Completed.**

 **Reward: 50 Exp**

 **Bonus Reward: 100 Exp (50 Exp per bonus objective completed)**

Well, that's embarrassing. At least my little speech has made them rethink their life choices. Another box, this one smaller and blue, appears.

 **You have leveled up!**

Remembering all those boxes I'd dismissed, I call up my stat screen and get greeted by new information.

 **Name: Ricky Jimenez**  
 **Job: The Gamer**  
 **Level: Lv 3 Next Level: 19.34%**  
 **Title: None**

 **HP: 122/160**  
 **MP: 200/200**

 **STR: 8**  
 **VIT: 8**  
 **DEX: 5**  
 **INT: 10**  
 **WIS: 11**  
 **LUK: 10**

 **Points: 10**  
 **Money:** **¥3206**

The first thing I notice is that my overall HP had increased, and it took me a while to realize that each point that went into my VIT raised the HP bar by 20 hit points each, which was good to know. Extrapolating from that, each point in INT gave me the same for MP. Good to know.

So one of those boxes had been me leveling up due to Exp gained during the fight. But there had been five altogether, hadn't there?

"Skills."

 **[Gamer's Body (Passive) Lv MAX]**  
 **Grants a body that allows the user to live the real world like a game. Sleeping in a bed restores HP, MP, and all mass effects.**

 **[Gamer's Mind (Passive) Lv MAX]**  
 **Allows the user to calmly and logically think things through. Allows peaceful state of mind. Immunity to psychological status effects.**

 **[ID Create (Active) Lv 1 Exp: 0.00%]**  
 **Used to create instant dungeons (illusion barriers). Stronger instant dungeons may be created at higher levels.**

 **[ID Escape (Active) Lv 1 Exp: 0.00%]  
** **Used to escape instant dungeons (illusion barriers).**

 **[Danger Sense (Passive) Lv 2 Exp: 16.03%]  
** **A natural survival instinct. It allows the user to sense when something bad might happen. The higher the skill level, the earlier the user can sense danger.**

 **1.1 second of early warning.**

 **[Dagger Mastery (Passive) Lv 1 Exp: 63.92%]**  
 **Allows the user to freely handle daggers.**  
 **10% increase in attack damage with daggers.**  
 **5% increase in attack speed with daggers.**

 **[Physical Endurance (Passive) Lv 1 Exp 12.43%]**  
 **The body's durability increases and the user take less damage.**  
 **3% decrease in damage.**

 **[Dodge (Passive) Lv 1 Exp: 0.00%]**  
 **Allows the user an increased chance of moving out of the way of an attack. The higher the skill level, the easier it will be to evade.**  
 **5% chance of evasion.**

 **[Basic First Aid (Passive) Lv 1 Exp: 0.00%]**  
 **Allows the user to more effectively use healing items.**  
 **2% HP increase when using healing items.**

Well, that answers that question. Three of the remaining boxes had been the creation of Physical Endurance, Dodge, and Basic First Aid, while the other one was Danger Sense leveling up. Curious, I decide to check out each one of my skills, since I didn't do so before.

The first four are about what I expected, changing my basic physiology and psychology to fit that of a video game character's while the ID skills were exactly what they said on the tin.

Danger Sense is probably going to be the one I rely on most often. If I can level it up properly, it will likely become a form of battle precognition, and no one will be able to touch me, especially in conjunction with Dodge when it was leveled. Physical Endurance, Dagger Master, and Basic First Aid are also very useful. All these passive skills will start stacking up nicely, and I'm sure that more would come.

Then I look down at the two weapons I'd gotten out of the fight. Would these be considered loot? Well, I'm going to classify them as such regardless.

"Observe."

 **[Butterfly Knife Tanto Blade (Rank-Normal)/Type: Dagger]**  
 **A well-made flipping blade taken from Watanabe Shinji, who received it on his sixteenth birthday from his uncle.**  
 **Req. DEX: 5**  
 **Armor Piercing**

 **[ZK Zombie Killer Death Dagger (Rank-A little special)/Type: Dagger]**  
 **A wicked blade modeled after the fearsome Western L77 Blade, taken from Yoshida Hiro.**  
 **Req. DEX 10**  
 **Armor Piercing, +50% damage to Undead**

Holy shit, I just unknowingly hit the jackpot! Certainly, I'll need to raise my DEX a bit before I can use Hiro's dagger, but hell, fifty percent damage increase to undead monsters? Man, I can't believe I got this lucky. My first quest turned out _way_ better than I'd hoped. I leveled up _twice_ , created three separate passive skills that would only become more valuable with time, and gained two weapons to boot.

A sting of pain reminds me that I'd been clocked in the face by a skateboard, grip-side up unfortunately, which brings my mind back to the horrifying realization I'd almost made mid-battle. Pain isn't supposed to happen in dreams, be they of the coma variety or otherwise. I'm no stranger to pain; as a kid, I was a dumb-ass and got into more than my fair share of accidents and mishaps. I know what it felt like to hurt, and I am definitely hurt.

That means...that means that I'm not dreaming, or in a coma. And _that_ means that I died getting hit by a truck in the act of saving my best friend's life. The natural conclusion is that I'd been knocked into the Bleach universe, however absurd that may sound, gaining the powers of Han Jee-Han in the process.

Resisting the urge to rub the bridge of my nose, I lean my back against the alley's wall, sliding down into a seated position. Okay, I need to think this out logically. Thank God for the Gamer's Mind skill.

So if I'm in the Bleach universe, the first thing I need to figure out is where in the timeline I am and go from there. If it's before the main plot kicks off, I might have a chance at leveling up enough to help the main characters, but if it's anywhere beyond the first arc, I probably won't be able to get stronger quickly enough to manage anything beyond annoying someone enough to murder me horribly.

Dying once is bad enough; I don't want to do that again and possibly wind up in some other work of fiction.

For now, I guess I'll go on the assumption that I've landed myself before everything kicks off and try to gain power as fast as I can. If I can level ID Create at least once, I should be able to make the Zombie and Ghost dungeons and grind up. For now, I need to get to the park. Urahara can wait until tomorrow.

 **Through intense thought concerning your current situation, your WIS has gone up by 2!**

With a grim smile, I store the ZK Dagger in my Inventory, then start jogging toward the park. I pass a ramen bar, and after a moment's deliberation use a bit of my meager fortune to buy some take-out bowls.

When I make it back to the park (after a plus one to my VIT thanks to the jog), I settle myself beneath a tree and Observe one of the bowls.

 **Pork Ramen Bowl**  
 **Made by Honsho Chisame**

 **A delicious bowl of ramen topped with succulent pork slices.**  
 **\+ 50 HP**  
 **+5 STR, +2 VIT (Buffs last 20 minute)**

Hm, so food not only restores health, but certain dishes also grant stat buffs. I'll need to find a stove soon and create a Cooking skill. With a shrug, I wolf down the meal, savoring the tasty flavor, then store the rest of the bowls in my Inventory as well. Hopefully they'll keep.

Then I stand up, dump the empty bowl and chopsticks into a nearby trashcan, and raise my hand into the air. "ID Create!"

I instantly feel a wave of energy rush down my arm, through my hand, and into the world at large. If I focus enough, I can see a slight shimmer in the night sky, like a heat mirage as it expands up and out.

The noise of the town around me quiets down, and I can't stop the grin from pulling my lips upward. Sure, I might be dead in my original world, and I'll miss my family and friends dearly, but having this ability somewhat makes up for it.

"ID Escape!" Fractures appear in the sky, and my illusion barrier shatters, letting the sounds of Karakura wash over me once more.

It takes nine more creations and escapes before they both level up, but it's totally worth it. I access my stat window and dump five points into DEX, then equip a knife in each hand before calling out, "ID Create: Zombie!"

This time, as the illusion barrier unfolds, a fog rolls in low to the ground, accompanied by a chorus of groans.

Glancing around, I spot the first zombie. It was likely a businessman, judging by the torn and bloodstained suit, but half his face is hanging by a bit of skin, revealing the decaying musculature beneath. A shudder of revulsion crawls up my spine, but I suppress my disgust and move forward.

It hasn't noticed me yet, so I creep up silently around toward its back. "Observe," I whisper as quietly as I can.

 **Zombie Lv 8**  
 **HP: 800(800) MP: 50**  
 **A walking corpse no matter how it died. It hates the living, attacking and eating their flesh. Although it is slow, its strength is twice what it had been while alive.**

So even zombies are higher level than me. Well, at least it lines up with what I remember from the web comic. Time to see how much damage I can do.

First, I attack with Shinji's butterfly knife, aiming for the top of the head. The blade stabs straight through decomposing flesh and bone easily, and a little **-92, Backstab!** floats away from the zombie.

The Z howls in rage and turns to face me, arms outstretched. My Danger Sense picked it up, though, and I deftly swerved to avoid its grasp, cutting into it again across the ribs and taking **-40** HP. Okay, so Backstab grants either fifty-two additional damage or about a hundred and ten increase in damage, or thereabouts. Mathematics were never my strong suit.

Once again, I find myself behind the zombie, and this time I stab it right between the shoulder blades with the ZK. A whopping **-242, Backstab!** flies off the walking corpse, and as it turns, I turn with it, reaching around to shove the dagger into its chest and drag it over to the back.

 **-105!**  
 **-105!**  
 **-105!**

Alright, so I know now that Backstab is a little over a hundred percent boost to attack damage, and the ZK does about two and a half times the damage the butterfly knife does when attacking zombies. Pretty damn good, if you ask me.

The zombie snarls at me and lurches forward, but I land a vicious kick to its leg that sends it crashing to the ground, and while it's fighting to get back up, I drive both daggers home into its skull.

 **-242, Backstab!**  
 **-92, Backstab!**

Before my eyes, the zombie dissolves into nothing, leaving only a little tooth behind. I pick it up and put it in my Inventory.

 **Double your pleasure, double your fun! Through a special action, a new skill, "Double Stab", has been created!**

 **[Double Stab (Active) Lv 1 Exp: 0.00%]**  
 **The user strikes with two weapons simultaneously to inflict massive damage.**  
 **Must have two weapons with points equipped to use.**  
 **20% increase in critical rate.**  
 **70% increase in attack damage.**

Sweet Jesus, now that's what a real skill looks like! I'm no math whiz, but even I know that a seventy percent increase in attack damage is nothing to scoff at.

With a grin, I spin and head for the closest zombie. I don't bother trying to sneak up on it this time, and it gives me a vicious glare as it shambles at me. I pick up speed and leap forward, knives raised.

"Double Stab!" I shout, punching forward. Both daggers seem to glow with a green light as they puncture the zombie's eyes.

 **-136, Critical!**  
 **-358, Critical!**

Over half the zombie's HP drains away in that single strike, and a few extra stabs as I weave around its grasping hands finishes it off. Another tooth drops to the ground as the zombie disappears, and it quickly finds its way into my Inventory. Man, killing zombies is kinda fun!

Several inhuman moans alerts me to more zombies behind me, and I turn to find myself face-to-face with about a half-dozen of the things coming toward me in a tightly-packed group. I feel myself frown, wondering how I'll manage these fellows. Using my advanced mobility is a given, but even with the Double Stab, it'll take me a few hits each and in doing so I'll be leaving myself open to one of the others in the group. I'm going to need to come up with a ranged skill after this is over.

 **By working out a viable tactic, your WIS has increased by 1!**

How was it that Jee Han had created the mana bullet? Something to do with him learning to use his mana when figuring out ID Create, if I recall correctly. So, should I just...?

Shifting the butterfly knife so I'm holding both daggers in one hand, I try to bring up the recent memory of making and breaking the illusion barriers earlier, and more specifically how it felt when the energy rushed through my hands. I feel it happening now, and make sure not to think about anything except making a ball of light appear in my free hand.

At first, it's just a pinprick of light, but it swiftly swells up until an orb of softly glowing green energy is floating about an inch above my palm.

 **You've got the powah! Through a special action, a new skill, "Energy Bolt", has been created!**

 **[Energy Bolt (Active) Lv 1 Exp: 0.00%]**  
 **A skill that attacks by emitting mana.**  
 **Attack power increases with INT**  
 **Range: 10 m**

Alright, nicely done, Rick. Focusing on the miniature zombie horde, which has only gotten about ten feet closer to me in the time it took me to learn a new skill. Turning my hand outward, I take aim at the foremost zombie's head and fire off the ball of mana.

It streaks forward and crashes into the undead creature's face, flaying the flesh and muscle right off and knocking it onto its back, where a **-60** floats off. I do the same for the next four, and then grab the butterfly knife and circle around the last zombie standing.

"Double Stab!"

 **-212, Backstab!**  
 **-557, Backstab!**

Another stab from the ZK finishes the wretched thing off, and I set to work on the rest of the zombies who are just now struggling to their feet. Dancing around their grabs is kind of fun, to be honest, a game of keep away with a splash of danger.

 **Dodge has leveled up!**

Four of the six zombies give out a tooth, one gives me a rib, and the last relinquishes a shiny pink stone that has me grinning from ear to ear. Other zombies start coming towards me, so I roll up my sleeves and go to town.

By the time the moon is directly overhead, I'm thoroughly wiped out. My MP ran out about an hour ago, and my HP has about a quarter remaining. I must have killed over a hundred zombies, since I've got 40 Teeth of the Dead, 23 Ribs of the Dead, and 15 Soul Stones in my Inventory. Not all of them gave out a drop item, but they sure did give out some good Exp.

I leveled up once more, and just about every skill I have except Basic First Aid got at least two levels.

"ID Escape!" I grunt, and the zombies disappear with the fog. I allow myself to flop down onto the cool grass, where I lay for a few minutes, just recovering my strength. "Stats, Skills." The two windows pop up side-by-side.

 **Name: Ricky Jimenez**  
 **Job: The Gamer**  
 **Level: 4 Next Level: 53.20%**  
 **Title: None**

 **HP: 49/160**  
 **MP: 4/200**

 **STR: 8**  
 **VIT: 9**  
 **DEX: 10**  
 **INT: 10**  
 **WIS: 14**  
 **LUK: 10**

 **Points: 10**  
 **Money: ¥1206**

 **[Gamer's Body (Passive) Lv MAX]**  
 **Grants a body that allows the user to live the real world like a game. Sleeping in a bed restores HP, MP, and all mass effects.**

 **[Gamer's Mind (Passive) Lv MAX]**  
 **Allows the user to calmly and logically think things through. Allows peaceful state of mind. Immunity to psychological status effects.**

 **[ID Create (Active) Lv 2 Exp: 0.00%]**  
 **Used to create instant dungeons (illusion barriers). Stronger instant dungeons may be created at higher levels.**  
 **Currently available IDs:**  
 **1\. Empty ID-monsters: none**  
 **2\. Zombie ID-monsters: zombies**  
 **3\. Ghost ID-monsters: ghosts**  
 **4\. Mixed ID-monsters: zombies, ghosts**

 **[ID Escape (Active) Lv 2 Exp: 0.00%]**  
 **Used to escape instant dungeons (illusion barriers).**

 **[Danger Sense (Passive) Lv 5 Exp: 16.03%]**  
 **A natural survival instinct. It allows the user to sense when something bad might happen. The higher the skill level, the earlier the user can sense danger.**  
 **1.4 second of early warning.**

 **[Dagger Mastery (Passive) Lv 6 Exp: 63.92%]**  
 **Allows the user to freely handle daggers.**  
 **13% increase in attack damage with daggers.**  
 **8% increase in attack speed with daggers.**

 **[Physical Endurance (Passive) Lv 4 Exp 12.43%]**  
 **The body's durability increases and the user take less damage.**  
 **6% decrease in damage.**

 **[Dodge (Passive) Lv 8 Exp: 0.00%]**  
 **Allows the user an increased chance of moving out of the way of an attack. The higher the skill level, the easier it will be to evade.**  
 **9% chance of evasion.**

 **[Basic First Aid (Passive) Lv 1 Exp: 0.00%]**  
 **Allows the user to more effectively use healing items.**  
 **2% HP increase when using healing items.**

 **[Double Stab (Active) Lv 5 Exp: 0.00%]**  
 **The user strikes with two weapons simultaneously to inflict massive damage.**  
 **Must have two weapons with points equipped to use.**  
 **30% increase in critical rate.**  
 **80% increase in attack damage.**

 **[Energy Bolt (Active) Lv 6 Exp: 0.00%]**  
 **A skill that attacks by emitting mana.**  
 **Attack power increases with INT**  
 **Range: 40 m**

All in all, I'd say it was a pretty good first day for a loser like me. After a quick meal of two bowls of ramen, I indulge in a long, languorous yawn and rest my head in my hands. Closing my eyes, I surrender myself to the hands of the Sandman and dream of my old life.

* * *

 **After-Action Report:** And there you have it, folks. Yes my name is, in fact, Ricky Jimenez, and yes I am going to a Halloween party later on today (Happy Halloween, by the way), so if you never hear from me again, I've probably been struck by a truck and living the life of The Gamer in Bleach Land.

All jokes aside, this was actually pretty fun for me. I've never written an SI story before, and I've got to say it's a lot more enjoyable than I'd expected. The challenge this story is using as a base requested that I not use any Spear or Chain weapons, so I went the route of dual-wielded Daggers, which are always fun. I think I might have my SI become the Rouge of the group, since Ichigo's the main, Chad's the Tank, Orihime's the Healer, and Uryu's the Archer. Makes sense in a party-based sense.

All of the skills which are canon in The Gamer have been thoroughly researched (by which I mean I checked the wiki a few times to make sure it wasn't too wrong), and the ones that are of my own creation (i.e. Double Stab and Basic First Aid) are as simple as I can make 'em.

Like the SI said in the narrative, I really am terrible at math, so any mistakes with the numbers should be pointed out to me immediately. Maybe if someone were to offer some help on that front, things would go a lot smoother. I tried to make everything as kosher as possible when it comes to leveling up both the stats and skills, but if anything seems too overpowered, let me know.

The two knives Rick snatched from those would-be muggers are real-life knives (obviously I don't know if the ZK actually does extra damage to the undead, and I don't recommend going to find out yourselves), and can be found using a quick Google search.

I think that's it for now. Reviews are appreciated, flames are welcome, and I'll see you all next time. Have a good day!


	2. Well, At Least I Didn't Get Dissected

**Author's Note:** So I'm pretty excited about this story, enough that I've managed another chapter about the same size as the last one in only four days. For me, that's a record. Anyway, thank you all for the massive show of support for this little story; I appreciate each and every one of you!

To the Guest who asked if the SI is black: I am what I like to refer to as a mutt; I've got a lot of different blood running through my veins and many different-colored genes swimming in my gene pool. My profile picture is myself at around nineteen with my little sister, so that should give you a good idea as to what the SI looks like.

 **Disclaimer** and **Warning** apply from the first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 2:** **Well, At Least I Didn't Get Dissected**

* * *

 **You have slept on the ground. 5% HP and MP restored!**

Guh, man I must've drunk entirely too much after getting home from that party. I bet Chris talked me into it.

Sitting up, I blink blearily at the blue box in front of me. I've had some pretty mean hangovers, but this is new.

Squinting to read the words, it takes my tired brain a few moments to put it together. That's right; the Bleach thing.

With a groan, I haul myself to my feet and stretch, releasing a symphony of pops and clicks from my back. I'm surprisingly not sore, which is about right considering the Gamer's Body skill. What I would have given for something like that during my wild years in my original world.

Pulling my phone out, which could use a bit of a charge, I learn that it's eight in the morning. A quick look around shows that there aren't a lot of people in the park this early, so my vagabond tactic of sleeping in the bushes went more or less unnoticed. I briefly go over the events of the previous day in my head with no small amount of wonder. For those first few seconds waking up, I'd thought it had been one of the most intensely cool dreams I ever had.

"Inventory."

Up comes the menu, dispelling the lingering doubt as to the authenticity of my memories of yesterday. I pull out the tequila bottle and take a quick victory swig for accomplishing so much yesterday, then replace it and bring out one of the last two ramen bowls. With that done, I scoot further into the bushes and put on my other pair of clothes and step out into the world.

I ask a passerby which direction Mitsumiya district lay, and then jog off toward the steadily rising sun, occasionally stopping to get better directions. I know the shop is somewhere in the southern part, near where Kimogaya, Mashiba, and Mitsumiya meet, but it takes me quite a while to find the damn place.

On the plus side, it gives me time to think about how to broach the subject to Geta-Boushi. I've done my fair share of reading the kind of plots that utilize game-mechanics, and most of the time it's just a rehash of the same old deal. Which isn't to say I don't enjoy that sort of thing, but now that I'm literally living the dream it might be a good idea to come at this from a different angle.

Finally, I find myself standing in front of the smallish two-story building with its simple sign and the van parked off to the side. If I didn't know what secrets it held, I would have just passed it off as a quaint little store and nothing else.

 **A quest has been created!**

 **Welcome to Karakura Town!**

 **Objectives:**  
 **Present yourself to Urahara Kisuke.**  
 **Make a good first impression.**

 **Reward:**  
 **500 Exp per objective completed**  
 **Gain Urahara Kisuke as an ally**

 **Failure:**  
 **50 Exp**  
 **Gain Urahara Kisuke as an enemy**

 **Bonus Objectives:**  
 **?**  
 **?**  
 **?**  
 **?**  
 **?**  
 **?**

 **Accept/Deny**

Well, that's quite a few bonus objectives. Maybe this won't be as easy as I thought?

Taking a deep breath to quell my anxieties, I accept the quest and, noting the 'Open' sign, enter without further ado. Urahara Kisuke sits behind the register fanning himself, one sandaled foot resting against the countertop, balancing his chair on its back legs. His trademark striped bucket hat rests at a jaunty angle on his blonde hair, shadowing his eyes as he takes in my appearance. Above his head are his name and some question marks, which I had anticipated. In separate aisles are his two wards, Ururu and Jinta, restocking some shelves ( _Lv 17: Tsumugiya Ururu, Lv 17: Hanakari Jinta_ ).

It's really odd, knowing that where I'm from, these people are just the constructs of someone's imagination. Yet here, they've got their own thoughts and emotions and just...everything that true sapience entails.

Okay. First impressions.

"Good morning," I say. It's not terribly creative, but I've always been a polite guy, and the niceties must be observed. "Is this the Urahara Shop?"

Urahara nods, settling both feet firmly on the ground and standing up. "It certainly is," he confirmed with a small smile. This guy has always intrigued me as a character, not simply because of his past, but also because of the conceptual background Tite Kubo had in store for him: the man scheduled to become the series' Big Bad relegated instead to become the protagonist's mentor figure. It's a fascinating thing. "What can I help you with, sir?"

I hum thoughtfully as I scan the shelves idly from my position just inside the door. "Well, I was hoping we could speak about a matter of some importance to me, and possibly to yourself as well, if you would be willing."

Face not betraying the slightest hint of suspicion, he smiled deprecatingly. "But sir, I am but a humble, handsome shopkeeper. What would such a fine young man need with a boring old fellow like me?"

"Well, for one thing, I'd like to know if you could help me with something that I believe is somewhat sensitive to common folk," I respond smoothly, internally marveling at how easily the words come. With my friends I'm fairly eloquent in my speech, but with someone I don't know too well, I'm about as articulate as a drunken hippopotamus unless I'm actually drunk. It could be because I 'know' this man from reading the manga and watching the show, or it might be a side-effect of the Gamer's Mind. Hell, it might just be the shot I had this morning; I didn't build up a good tolerance for alcohol until I was about twenty, after all.

"And what, pray-tell, would that be?" Urahara inquires, expression still bland and good-humored.

"It's a little hard to explain," I tell him. "It would probably be better if I showed you. Please don't freak out or anything. Inventory." The menu pops up again, and I pull out one of the books I'd brought along on my ethereal jaunt through space/time/dimensional matter. It's one of the Bathroom Reader books, a favorite series of mine with tons of completely useless trivia and fun facts that no one cares about.

Urahara's expression quickly morphs into one of keen interest with a generous dollop of caution. Jinta and Ururu, who'd been blatantly watching, both go still with shock. To them, it must have seemed like I had just pulled a book from nothing.

"Perhaps we should retire to the back room," Urahara spoke after a while. "Jinta, flip the sign, please, then continue with your chores."

He gestures for me to follow and leads me into the room I've seen so often that sometimes doubles as a war room, council chamber, and on a couple occasions, a triage station. He bustles around, preparing a pot of tea while I settle myself onto the cushion and occasionally take a peek down at the Bathroom Reader.

Eventually, he sets a cup of tea down in front of me and seats himself across from me. "Now, what was that you did earlier?" he asks, a calculating gleam in his eyes.

"I accessed my Inventory," I explain, the window blinking into existence at my command. I withdraw the other book (a Louis L'Amour short story anthology), the last ramen bowl, and my two knives (handling them carefully by their blades to avoid any pretense of a threat), and set them on the table halfway between us.

He picks up the daggers first, examining them closely, then does the same with the book, and finally the ramen, which is still steaming slightly. "And where is this inventory located?"

I shrug. "Haven't got a clue. Maybe some pocket dimension or a subspace fold, something to that effect anyway. I'm still fairly new to all this. I woke up in Karakura Community Park yesterday with no idea how I got there, a sudden understanding of the Japanese language, and an ability that calls itself The Gamer."

" 'Calls itself'...is it sentient?"

"Might be," I admit. I'd given it some thought as I traveled to the shop, and the odd little quirks in the text were a little suspicious. In the web comic, it had been speculated that the system notifications were sent by the world's consciousness, but I'm not sure if that's the case here since the Gaea theory might not even be true in the Bleach setting. All I know is that as my Observe skill levels up, the messages get more sarcastic and kind of funny as well. Of course, it could just be a reflection of my own personality, but hey, that's just a theory...a game theory.

"What else does this ability do?"

"I'd like to try something, if that's alright with you," I say. Along the way here, I had been wondering just how to explain The Gamer power to a scientific mind such as Urahara's. If possible, the easiest way to do so would be to have him join a party, but he's more than likely way beyond my ability. I can't remember if Jee Han ever tried to invite someone on a whole other tier of power, but it would make sense for it not to work. Then again, there's only one way to find out for sure.

"Be my guest," the blonde says with a slight nod, not commenting on the non-sequitur, bless his heart.

"Create Party: Learned Men," I say, a smile quirking one side of my mouth up. Once the notification alerted me to its success, I continue. "Invite to Learned Men: Urahara Kisuke."

His eyes narrow upon my utterance of his name, but quickly widen almost comically when he sees the box in front of him open up. "What in the Soul King's name...!?" he exclaims before quickly smoothing his face over.

"It says that I cannot join your party," he informs me, but a box stating that exact thing had just revealed itself to me.

"I'd figured as much," I mutter, closing the window with deliberate motions, and he quickly copies me. "You're level is much too high for me. And in case you were wondering how I came to know your name, well, to me everyone's name and level are just floating right above your heads. I can't see your level, since the disparity is too great. See, I'm only at level four, and I couldn't begin to guess yours."

"Any other revelations about your ability?" Urahara asks wryly, and I can't help but chuckle.

"Hell, I'm still learning new stuff about it," I tell him. "This whole thing is just one big mindfuck for me. The day before yesterday, I died in a completely different dimension on a totally different world where no one has any special abilities and everyone just goes about their boring lives. Where I was born, raised, and died, I was just a slacker with no ambition to speak of and a fondness for drinking and sleeping until I pushed my friend out of the way of a truck."

"Whereupon you awoke here," he surmises, and I nod in agreement. "That is quite the tale, ah..." It seems to occur to him that I've not told him my name, and I quickly rectify that.

"Rick. Ricky Jimenez, or I suppose it's Jimenez Ricky here."

"Okay, Rick-san," he continues. "You'll forgive me if I don't take your word at face-value."

I give him a self-deprecating grin. "I understand completely. Even _I_ thought I was either crazy or in a coma, or something at first. But there's one thing that I know will convince you. In my dimension, or universe I guess, you were a fictional character in a manga that had just entered its final story arc when I died. I can tell you a lot about yourself and your companions, more than probably anyone else in this world. Ask me something."

Urahara raises a skeptical eyebrow. "Alright, I'll bite. I'll give you a simple question then: what did I do for a living before being a shopkeeper."

"You were the captain of Division Twelve of the Thirteen Imperial Guard Squads, as well as the founder of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute," I answer, and his eyes narrow dangerously, but I can't stop now. "Before that, you were the third seated officer of the Second Division, and head of the Onmitsukido Detention Unit."

I force myself to remain calm when I find myself looking down that massively cool pimp cane-slash-Zanpakuto of his, its tip inches from my neck (the Gamer skills really do shine in stressful situations like this). "I also know that you gave all that up to help your comrades-in-arms survive the Hollowfication thrust upon them unwillingly by the madman Aizen Sosuke and was nearly executed for it." I can't help but snort. "I guess it's true that no good deed goes unpunished.

" _How_ _do you know this_ ," the man hisses. His face is still smooth, but I can see the conflict in his eyes as he tries to puzzle out just who (or what) I am.

"Like I said, where I'm from, this whole interplay between worlds is just a comic book. I know quite a few things that no one else is aware of, as well as a possible future, if I'm right and this is before the main plot has begun." I shrug then, careful not to move my neck. "Of course, my being here screws everything up. Even just talking to you has already changed things; I don't know what, but the hell butterflies are already flapping their wings, causing hurricanes in the future that I can't possibly predict."

"Then why come to me at all?" Urahara demands, Zanpakuto still inches from ending my second life.

"Things would have changed regardless," I grunt, keeping my eyes locked on his. "My very presence in this world makes things different. I could have just stayed in that park and allowed myself to wither up and die of starvation or exposure, but then I would have more than likely become a Hollow, and what a Hollow I would have become." I take a moment to visualize what I might look like as a soul-eating monster.

"Perhaps I might have become a Vasto Lorde, got the attention of Aizen, and become an Arrancar when he inevitably gains access to your Hogyoku. Then you would have had me as an enemy, one you might not have been able to counter." The picture I paint is a bleak one, but I need to hammer the point home. "This way, at least I'm not helping a fucking psychopath with a god-complex."

After another few tense moments, Urahara withdraws his cane and sets it at his side once more, leaning back as he processes all I've said. Hell, I'm surprised I haven't been horribly murdered yet after the shit I've just pulled. I don't think I've read a story where the Author Avatar tells the people he's meeting that they're just fictional characters where they're from, not from the get-go anyway; it's definitely risky, and I still might end up dying horrifically, or worse, end up being vivisected and experimented on (Urahara _is_ a mad scientist, after all).

"I must be insane," Urahara begins after a while, his hat still shadowing most of his upper face, "but I think I'll believe you for the time being. I've got my doubts, but you seem genuine, and I respect the fact that you've laid all your cards on the table, so to speak. You're either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid."

I let out a breath I wasn't aware I'd been holding in, and nod gratefully. "I'd say it's about a thirty-seventy split. For a while, I thought you'd knock me out and start cutting me open."

A playful grin flickers across his face. "No dissection until the second date. What kind of girl do you think I am, Rick-san?"

Chuckling, I decide to get down to the main reason I've come here. "Alright, well, I suppose I should give you a run-down on everything I know about this world," I say. "But first, do you know anyone who goes by the name Kuchiki Rukia?"

"I can't say that I do," Urahara answers. "The Kuchiki are one of the noble clans in Soul Society, but I've never heard that name before. Of course, I've been in exile for over a hundred years."

I raise my hand to stroke my beard, remember I have no beard, and then awkwardly scratch my chin. "Okay, that means the first arc hasn't started yet. Kuchiki Rukia is an unseated member of the Thirteenth Division under Captain Ukitake, but she's strong enough to be at least fifth-seat. I don't know when she'll come to the Living World, but I assume it'll be soon."

Urahara frowns. "And what is the significance of an unseated officer on a routine mission to the Living World?"

"She'll run into the Kurosaki family, and the oldest son's stupid amount of reiatsu will hinder her senses enough that she won't be able to notice a Hollow until it's in their home and attacking. Ichigo bum-rushes the thing, and Rukia is injured while saving him, enough that she decides to attempt to give him a little bit of her power."

Urahara opens his mouth, but I interrupt him. "I know, that's illegal. It sort of jump-starts his natural growth, being half Shinigami and half Quincy, and he accidentally absorbs all of her power instead of just a portion, leaving her defenseless. She comes here for a gigai and then starts showing Ichigo the ropes since he has to do her job." I give him an unimpressed gaze as I continue. "But you, for whatever harebrained reason, somehow implant your Hogyoku into her in the process, and Aizen orchestrates a whole big show and dance where her adoptive brother and childhood friend are sent to bring her back to Seireitei, where she's sentenced to death by Sokyoku. Ichigo and a few of his friends get the bright idea of invading Soul Society and somehow manage to pull of a Hail Mary, saving Rukia and unintentionally saving a lot of people's lives when Aizen makes his move. Aizen defects, snatching your Hogyoku and taking off to his base in Hueco Mundo, where he... _feeds_ your little jewel to the one he made and starts churning out Arrancar like a factory.

"In the meanwhile, Ichigo starts to succumb to his Inner Hollow, which he was sort of infected with because of the remnant of the one his mom and dad beat up when they met, I think you had something to do with helping out with that. But you give him to the Visored, who help him leash it and then there's a little war that occurs where you and Captain Kurotsuchi switch Karakura Town with a fake one, and Aizen, Tosen, and Ichimaru, along with a bunch of his top Arrancar, face off against the Imperial Guard while Ichigo and his buddies go to Hueco Mundo in order to rescue a girl called Inoue Orihime, who's got the unique power to reject reality and sort of replace it with her own. Aizen kidnapped her because the combined Hogyoku had been deteriorating and he wanted her to fix it. Eventually, everything worked out. Aizen used the Hogyoku to be come a demigod, Ichigo used the power of determination to exceed him, and you used some sort of kido to block his wrist vents. Then Juhabach woke up and started fucking everything up with his army of Nazi Quincies, killed the Spirit King, and became the new one. That's about as far as it got by the time I bought the farm."

I had been looking at the ceiling as I recited the plot of Bleach to one of its characters, and when I turn to him, I'm rewarded by the rare sight of a speechless Urahara Kisuke. His mouth is even hanging open. I must be the first person not in his little group of friends to see him like this. It's kind of funny.

He quickly regains control of himself and frowns. "I have a few questions."

 **Quest complete: Welcome to Karakura Town!**

 **Objectives:**  
 **Present yourself to Urahara Kisuke: Completed.**  
 **Make a good first impression: Completed.**

 **Reward:**  
 **1000 Exp (500 Exp per objective completed), Gained Urahara Kisuke as an ally**

 **Bonus Objectives:**  
 **Have Urahara Kisuke threaten your life with his Zanpakuto: Completed.**  
 **?: Failed.**  
 **Spill all the beans to Urahara Kisuke: Completed.**  
 **?: Failed.**  
 **Convince Urahara Kisuke to believe your story: Completed.**  
 **Surprise Urahara Kisuke: Completed.**

 **Bonus Reward:**  
 **4000 Exp (1000 Exp per bonus objective completed), Blackmail on Urahara Kisuke**

Frowning, I wonder what it means by blackmail, but shrug it off as new notifications appear.

 **You have leveled up!  
** **You have leveled up!  
** **You have leveled up!**

Shaking my head, I snort and tell him, "Now how did I know you would?"

By the time Urahara's finished grilling me for the details I can remember (which are pretty extensive, since Bleach had been on of my guilty pleasures in my old world), it's already five in the afternoon. Despite my enthusiasm for the series, it's sort of exhausting talking about it nonstop for hours on end, but I made my bed when I told Geta-Boushi and I'll be damned if I don't lay in it. Actions and consequences and all that.

"My, look at the time," Urahara says as he puts the finishing touches on his notes. There are papers full of his cramped writing strewn across the table, and I'm honestly surprised his hand hasn't fallen off with the amount of writing he's done. "I sometimes get carried away."

"I would never have known," I respond around the last bit of pork from the ramen bowl. I drink up the lukewarm broth, then say, "Anyway, the other reason I came here, besides to I guess announce myself," and complete a quest while I'm at it, "was to ask if I could use your secret training grounds for a bit."

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt," Urahara agrees with a slight nod. "Would you mind if I sat in and watched what you'll be doing?"

"It is your basement," I shrug. "Be kinda rude if I said no, and it's not like I can stop you anyway."

The blonde scientist grins and stands and leads the way to the trap-door, leaping down to the dusty ground hundreds of feet below. Grimacing, I opt to take the long way, muttering, "Show-off."

On the bright side, I get an extra point to my VIT and STR from the climb. As I descend, I take in the scenery. It's just like it's depicted in the comic and show: a vast expanse of wasteland devoid of any forms of life, the flat horizon broken up by the large boulders. The ceiling is just a blue sky interspersed with the occasional fluffy, white cloud, and while there is no sun everything is bright as mid-day.

Once my feet hit solid ground, I access the Inventory and pull out my knives, then look over at Urahara. "So, I guess I should explain what I'm about to do. "Now that it's nighttime, I can create a zombie ID."

"ID?" he parrots, curiosity written plainly on his face. It seems like the only expression he's actually willing to show voluntarily.

"It's short for Instant Dungeon, but another phrase for it is illusion barrier. The one I'm going to set up is just what it sounds like, so..." I hold up a hand, but instead of shouting it, I try to think the command as hard as I can, pushing energy into the words. _ID Create: Zombie!_

Just like the night before, the fog settles in and the groans of the undead pierce the quiet atmosphere. I smile victoriously; calling out my attacks is all well and good, but I feel like it would be a good idea in case I create a great skill with an incredibly embarrassing name. Urahara zeroes in on the nearest zombie and heads over to it. When it tries to grab him, he easily side-steps it and snaps of the basic binding Bakudo, dropping it to the ground. The cane disguise unravels, and he pokes it a few times lightly with Benihime's cane form.

"Fascinating," I hear him mumble.

"Alright, if you're fine over there, I'll just get to work," I tell him, and he nods distractedly, waving a hand to let me know he's heard.

And so I get to grinding, using much the same tactics I'd done last night: blast the zombies with an Energy Bolt then stab them like a schizophrenic crack-head looking to score some money for their next fix.

Halfway through the first hour, after a particularly vicious uppercut with the ZK, I get a notification.

 **Jabbity-jabbity, jab, jab, jabbity! Through a special action, a new skill, "Power Stab", has been created!**

 **[Power Stab (Active) Lv 1 Exp: 0.00%]**  
 **Stabs the target with strong force.**  
 **15% increase in critical rate.**  
 **50% increase in attack damage.**

I think it must be the equivalent of Jee Han's Power Strike, modified for bladed weapons, and works similarly enough to Double Stab, except it only uses a single knife.

Every once in a while, I catch sight of Urahara doing only God knows what to whatever unfortunate zombie was dumb enough to make a pass at him. I don't really want to know what sort of experiments require the occasional explosion.

After another ten minutes or so, I get a notification that I'd been looking forward to.

 **[Apprentice Undead Hunter]**  
 **-Obtained by killing any 150 Undead.**  
 **-You have a special talent and interest in exterminating the Undead.**  
 **-Become an Undead Hunter and eradicate the Undead!**  
 **30% increase in attack damage when battling Undead.**  
 **30% increase in defense when battling Undead.**  
 **All stats gain +5 when battling Undead.**

It's about as broken as I can remember. With that kind of boost, it's almost criminally easy to take out individual zombies. Three or four normal hits from the ZK and they're done for, and with a Backstab bonus or critical hit, it's whittled down to a single strike. With my new title equipped, I descend on the hordes like Ashley Williams himself.

Over the next few hours, I end up killing around twice as many as I had last night, but this time, I'm not nearly as wiped out. Now that I've got a feel for how the zombies move, it's easier to avoid them. It might be the effects of Danger Sense and Dodge working in tandem as well, since those two skills have been leveling up quite a bit as well. Regardless, my HP is still untouched while my MP is about three-quarters of the way full.

I leveled up twice more as well, and I decide that I should probably spend some of those stat points that are piling up. I scan the area for Urahara, who is surrounded by ribs and teeth and soul stones, and is about to finish cutting open his latest victim's cranium.

My Danger Sense suddenly flares up, and the pit of my stomach drops. "Wait, Urahara...er...-san. Don't!"

He looks up just as Benihime finishes slicing through the desiccated bone and the zombie disintegrates. "Why not?" he asks, eyes speculative.

But it's too late; all around us, the zombies start rushing toward a single point and crowding together until they begin melding into the boss monster. Shit.

"Shit," I feel the need to make my dread known to Urahara.

When it's finished forming, the Legion Zombie towers over everything in the basement. I wrack my brains for everything I can remember about it, thinking, _Observe_.

 **Legion Zombie Lv 34**  
 **HP: 15200 (15200) MP: 1200**  
 **Assembly of zombies full of resentment. When a large amount of zombies feel threatened due to mass hunting, they merge into a Legion Zombie. It has no magical abilities, but it has immense strength and stamina. It is, however, very slow.**

Well, fuck. It's got nineteen times the HP of a regular zombie, and from what I remember, it has enough thinking capacity to come up with rudimentary tactics.

I'm really coming to understand how useful the Gamer's Mind skill really is. Without it, I'd be panicking, if now outright shitting my pants and cowering in a corner. As it is, my gaze darts around the training ground, coming up with dozens of plans of attack.

 **A quest has been created.**

 **Like a Boss!**

 **Objective:**  
 **Defeat the Legion Zombie.**

 **Reward:**  
 **1000 Exp**

 **Failure:**  
 **Death**

 **Bonus Objectives:**  
 **?**  
 **?**  
 **?  
** **?  
** **?**  
 **Accept/Deny**

"Is this part of your Instant Dungeon?" Urahara asks, suddenly right beside me.

I nod as I press the accept button. "Yeah, this big fella's the boss monster. Kill enough of the regular small fry and he shows up." I lick my dry lips, ready my knives, and tell him, "If you don't mind, I think I'd like to try taking this thing on solo."

He glances up at the Legion Zombie, which has honed in on our position, then says, "Well, it's your funeral." With that, he flash-steps away. I try to focus on how he does it, but it's too fast for me to do anything but get a general idea. Man, that would be a handy skill to have.

Focusing on the task at hand, I wait until the massive creature is almost upon me, taking a swipe at me. I nimbly evade and dart toward the thing's leg and Double Stab the hell out of its Achilles tendon, watching with sadistic glee as its HP bar is reduced, not terribly much but noticeable nonetheless.

The abomination roars in agony loud enough to nearly deafen me. It stomps down, and even with my Danger Sense/Dodge, I barely make it. Even still, the displaced air and the tremors caused by its footfall send me hurling into one of those huge rocks. My HP falls by about a tenth, but I don't get a chance to fully recover before the Legion Zombie is upon me once more. Its movements are terribly slow, but just one hit from that thing will likely result in an one-hit kill.

 **Physical Resistance has leveled up!**

I throw myself to the side and narrowly avoid getting pasted by a megaton punch. Scrambling to get my bearings, I cast my mind about to think of anything that can help me. I need to be fast enough to keep out of the Legion's reach or I'm toast, and every anime, comic book, television show, book, etc. has shown me that I need to pump the energy into my legs if I want to go faster.

Willing that feeling of warmth and power through my body to infuse the muscles in my lower body, I can sense myself start to pick up the pace. The next time the Legion Zombie rocks the ground with its foot, I'm already twenty feet away. The punch it throws is useless when I'm not even within spitting distance of it.

 **Arriba, arriba, andale, andale! Through a special action, a new skill, "Energy Sprint", has been created!**

 **[Energy Sprint (Active) Lv 1 Exp: 0.00%]**  
 **Augmenting the user's legs with their natural energy allows for a short burst of greatly-enhanced speed.**  
 **20% increase in movement speed.**

Well, it's not shunpo, but it's better than nothing! Energy Sprint helps me dart and weave in through the Legion Zombie's attacks much more easily. It continues to try and stomp me out, but I manage to jump up onto a rock that comes up to about its waist and take quick aim before unleashing an Energy Bolt that explodes on its eye, hopefully reducing its ability to track me.

Roaring furiously, it raises its leg once more, and I jump away, only to get swatted like a fly by the hand I somehow missed coming. Danger Sense seems to not be onmiscient, which kind of sucks, but makes sense.

 **Physical Resistance has leveled up!**

The massive pimp-slap I just got tosses me about a hundred feet away, and I groan feebly, trying to push myself up. My HP bar is almost empty; at this point in a game is where I'd pause and eat a few dozen cheese wheels, but I don't exactly have that kind of item right now.

I manage to make it to my feet, wobbly as they are, and watch in horror as the Legion Zombie ponderously strides toward me. I need to come up with something that will get its head down close. I need to find a way to trip it or make it slip. I need...

...I need Earthbending.

Four Energy Sprints allow me to fake it out and juke the sucker enough to give me breathing room. I end up hiding behind a large outcropping of stone while it bellows its confusion.

 **You can't see me! Through a special action, a new skill, "Stealth", has been created!**

Well, at least that'll give me some more time to figure this out.

I must have been around thirteen or fourteen when Avatar: the Last Airbender premiered, and I was hooked from the start. A few of my friends and I used to get high and wonder what it would be like to be able to manipulate the elements on a whim, and Earthbending was always my first choice, probably because I'm an Earth sign.

So. Using the energy within me, I reach down into the ground and try to get a feel for it. The earth is a tricky thing to quantify; it's been around since before just about anything else. There's a reason you call someone who's seen many years 'Older than Dirt', after all. Patience and stubbornness are second-nature to the ground we all walk on, but there's more than one type of earth. Rock, sand, gem, metal, mineral, and even dust all fall into that category, each unique with its own properties.

Right now, I need to be able to just _move some of it_. I glare at the ground beneath me and command it to shift, even just a bit. I flood the floor with the power I have at my disposal, forcing it to soak into every little speck of dirt, and then _shove_ with my mind and arms and will...

...and a strip of stone shifts to the side.

 **The world is your plaything! Through a special action, a skill, "Earth Affinity", has been created!**

 **You are the greatest Earthbender alive! Through a special action, a skill, "Geomancy", has been created!**

"Fuck yeah," I mutter, grinning like a buffoon. "Stats."

 **Name: Ricky Jimenez**  
 **Job: The Gamer**  
 **Level: 9 Next Level: 41.09%**  
 **Title: Apprentice Undead Hunter**

 **HP: 14/200**  
 **MP: 61/200**

 **STR: 10**  
 **VIT: 11**  
 **DEX: 10**  
 **INT: 10**  
 **WIS: 14**  
 **LUK: 10**

 **Points: 35**  
 **Money: ¥1206**

After a moment's hesitation, I drop ten points each into DEX, LUK, and WIS.

Time to rock this bastard.

I take a peek out from behind my cover and find the big guy standing several yards away from where I'm hiding with his back facing me, grumbling in frustration. Energy Sprinting to another rock, I force myself still, then rinse and repeat until I'm only three feet away. The extra ten points into DEX are really putting in work; I can't believe how fast I've become!

 **Energy Sprint has leveled up!**

 **Stealth has leveled up!**

Gathering my concentration, I focus on the ground the Legion Zombie is standing upon and, with a monumental pulling motion with my hands, yank it out from under it like a rug.

The earth jerks forward, and the Legion Zombie teeters backward, unable to keep its balance. It crashes to the floor, kicking up a huge cloud of dust, but I'm already moving toward its face, squinting to keep the dirt out of my eyes. When I see the silhouette of its head, I gather more mana into my legs and jump, knives raised.

 **Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! Through a special action, a new skill, "Super Jump", has been created!**

 _Double Stab!_ I think, and its wide eyes stare at me as I descend and drive both of them home into each monstrous orb. It roars in agony, and I take the opportunity to Super Jump right above it and fire off three Energy Bolts right down its gullet.

 **Energy Bolt has leveled up!**

By now, the Legion Zombie's HP is pretty low (I guess it's true what they say: the bigger they are, the harder they fall), so I toss the Butterfly Knife downward at the zenith of my jump. It strikes the zombie's already ruined left eye, lowering its HP just a tiny bit more, and I grasp the ZK Dagger in both hands, aiming once more for its other eye.

"Power Stab!" I roar as the blade sinks deep into its eye, popping it and covering me with gross jelly-like stuff. I fight the urge to hurl, and almost cheer when the Legion Zombie begins to disintegrate (thankfully the eye jam goes with it).

 **You have leveled up!**  
 **You have leveled up!**  
 **You have leveled up!**

 **Quest Complete: Like a Boss!**

 **Objective:**  
 **Defeat the Legion Zombie: Completed.**

 **Reward:**  
 **1000 Exp**

 **Bonus Objectives:**  
 **Beat the Legion Zombie by yourself: Completed.**  
 **?: Failed.**  
 **?: Failed.**  
 **Learn 2 new skills while battling the Legion Zombie: Completed.**  
 **Level up 4 skills while battling the Legion Zombie: Completed.**

 **Bonus Reward:**  
 **3000 Exp (1000 Exp per bonus objective completed), 10 Stat Points**

My eyes bug out at the second bonus reward, and I can't help the triumphant shout to the heavens (or the first floor of Urahara Shop, anyway) this time.

 **You have leveled up!**

"That was quite the show," Urahara states, and I turn to find him sitting casually on the rock pile I'd hid behind to learn Geomancy, his fan out and waving idly. "You could have done much better, but I suppose you could have done much worse as well."

I huff out a chuckle, finally noticing how bone-tired I am from that fight. Geez, boss monsters are no freakin' joke. "Well, I'm still alive, I leveled up four times from that battle alone, and I got some extra Stat Points to spend, so I'm chalking it up as a win."

"Don't forget those," Urahara adds, flicking his fan toward where the Legion Zombie was slain. There, laying on the ground, are a jumble of items.

"LOOT!" I shout, rushing over to inspect the spoils of war. When I give it a cursory once-over, my heart almost stops, and I give myself a mental pat on the back for having the foresight to dump some points into LUK before I beat the Legion Zombie.

Four neat stacks of bills rest atop two small booklets, and ten glass bottles sit beside three large pink gems.

Dropping the money into my Inventory tells me that I've just become two hundred thousand yen richer, but that doesn't really tell me much since I never really learned the conversion rate. It's a lot of zeroes, that's all I know. The potions are split evenly between blue and red.

 **[Lowest Grade Recovery Potion- Rank: Normal]**  
 **A recovery potion. A lower-middle grade potion that instantly recovers 200 HP. Tastes like strawberry.**

 **[Lowest Grade Replenishing Potion- Rank: Normal]**  
 **A replenishing potion. A lower-middle grade potion that instantly replenishes 200 MP. Tastes like blue raspberry.**

The big pink gems are just bigger, better forms of Soul Stone, called Soul Gems, funnily enough. I don't have Yunhon Soul Recovery, since that probably doesn't exist in this world, but I'm sure they've got other uses. It's labeled as crafting item, so I can probably make something with them, or at the very least sell them to Urahara; he seems interested enough.

The last two boss drops are honest-to-goodness skill books, as incredible as it sounds. One is the same Life Drain skill Jee Han got of his first Legion Zombie while the other is its magical counterpart, Mana Drain.

After learning both of them, I set everything else in Inventory and stretch. Urahara's looking at me like an incredibly interesting animal he wants to study, and I suppose it's not too far from the mark.

"Your ability is a little frightening, do you know that?" he asks. I nod slowly, thinking of everything that I've done in two days. Curious as to what exactly he means, though I stay silent. "When you created your Instant Dungeon, I could feel spirit particles coalescing within it. Your zombies are made of reishi, but everything they drop is physical matter. You create something from nothing. Do you know how many laws of physics you've broken just by that alone?"

"I know," I say, thinking about the Law of Conservation of Mass. "I don't understand it, either. I kind of scare myself if I think about it too much."

"I don't disagree," he answers solemnly before he smiles. "On the bright side, I now have my own collection of teeth, stones, and ribs to experiment on."

Snorting, I pull out two potions, one of each variety, and hand them over to him. "Might as well have these, too. I'll just use 'em up; at least you can study them, maybe even find a way to synthesize them yourself."

He looks like Christmas came early, but hesitates just before he grabs the bottles. "Are you sure?"

I give an indifferent shrug, thrusting them into his grasp. "I've got four more of each anyway. Plus, now that I know I can beat the Legion Zombie by myself, I can just farm more of 'em pretty easily."

"Then I gratefully accept, Rick-san," he replies thankfully. "You know, since you don't have a place to stay, I could offer one of the empty guest rooms upstairs..."

"Nah," I wave him off. "It's fine. I've already imposed upon you enough by asking to use your nifty little underground chamber here; staying here on top of that would just be too much. I, ah, wouldn't be opposed to you whipping up a few documents for me though, just so I can rent an apartment and stuff."

"Oh, of course!" he perks up, jumping through the trapdoor in a single bound. After checking my mana levels, I Super Jump up the ladder, taking it twenty rungs at a time. "I've got just the thing; I had to scramble to make sure Isshin was able to attend medical school after he decided to become a doctor."

Kicking the door shut, I just smile in relief and follow him into his office. "Well, if it's good for a medical school, it should hold up to a realtor. I just hope they don't ask me what I do for a living."

"Well, you'll need to go to school of course," Urahara supplied with a frown. "You can't be over seventeen."

I wince. Oh, yeah. In all the excitement, I'd kind of forgotten about the de-aging. "Well, I guess this is my second chance to actually earn a high school degree," I offer with a sheepish grin. "I'm actually closer to thirty than I am seventeen."

Urahara turns around and peers at me closely. "Really?"

"Yeah, when I arrived here, I knew I was younger than I had been since I was a lot thinner and my beard was gone. Plus, I haven't had hair this long in a while," I pull a strand of the curly, dark brown hair in front of my eye to examine it more closely. "Although I can't remember why I cut it in the first place." I vaguely remember having a lot to drink the last time it was so lengthy, so that was probably a factor. "I didn't realize I looked _that_ young, though."

"Yes, well," Urahara coughed. "I suppose I can arrange for some fake school transcripts as well. "You said you never got your diploma in your old world?"

I scratch my cheek awkwardly. "Ah, yeah...the American education system and I never really got along, even when I was a kid. Maybe the Japanese equivalent will suit me better?"

Nodding, Urahara sits down at an ancient-looking computer and boots it up. Luckily, it comes alive with startling speed, and I remind myself to not judge on appearances, especially in a place like the Urahara Shop.

He pulls a few files up that look like blank official documents and asks a few questions, filling in the appropriate spaces. After a while, he pulls up the internet browser and tells me to take a seat.

Shrugging, I whip out the Bathroom Reader and lose an hour to it, raising my INT by three points in the process.

"Alright then." I look up and see Urahara shuffling some papers together near his printer, setting them into a blank gray folder before handing it to me. "That should take care of everything. You're a foreign exchange student from the United States, and I used your old home and school so you can remember more easily. I've also managed to set up a bank account for you as well as an appointment with a realtor tomorrow morning at eleven o'clock. His name and the meeting place are somewhere in that folder."

I'm speechless for a moment. "I...this is... _wow_." I put the folder in the Inventory, then bow to the blonde man deeply. "Thank you. I would have probably ended up living under a bridge without your help."

Urahara gives me a genuine smile for my efforts. "You are most welcome, Rick-san. It's the least I can do for the gifts you've given me."

We head back through the shop toward the front door, but when I try to exit, I bump into what at first seems to be a brick wall. Looking up, I see the most impressive mustache I've ever had the pleasure of beholding. _Lv ?: Tsukabishi Tessai_ hangs at least eight feet off the ground above the ex-Kido Corps Commander's head, his glasses flashing curiously.

"E-excuse me," I mumble, then realize I'm staring and snap myself out of it.

"It's no problem," the big man answers. His gaze briefly flicks toward Urahara, but pins me again before I can gauge the shopkeeper's reaction. "I am Tsukabishi Tessai."

"Oh, right, I'm Ri-er, that is, Jimenez Ricky," I reply. "It's nice to meet you, ah, Tessai-san."

"In Japan, it's polite to use a new acquaintance's family name until they deem it acceptable for you to use their given name," Urahara stage-whispers, and I flush, shooting him a grimace.

"Sorry, Tsukabishi-san," I mutter apologetically. "I'm new here."

"So I surmised," is his response. "But it's quite alright to call me Tessai, if you wish."

"Well, I guess you can call me Rick, then," I answer. Man, I appreciate politeness, but Japan really takes it to ridiculous levels. "Ah, I guess I'll be going then. It was nice meeting you, Tessai-san, Urahara-san."

"Likewise," Urahara says, fan out once more. "Don't be a stranger!"

* * *

 **After-Action Report:** And there we have it. I apologize for the ending; it kinda sucks, but I couldn't think of anything to make it better so I'm leaving it at that. The SI just jumped up by almost ten levels in a single day, but that's what happens when you put a noob character against a level 34 boss monster.

Rick's approach to revealing himself to Urahara is one I don't see very often; I'm fairly sure I've read this tactic being used somewhere, but my memory is about as useful as my talent with math (did you notice that I stopped doing damage calculations? Fuck _that_ ). So far only Urahara knows, and he may or may not tell Tessai and Yoruichi about it, I haven't really decided yet. If you're curious, the two bonus objectives Rick failed were **Make Urahara Kisuke kill you** and **Keep your secrets to yourself _._** So you can see how that happened.

As for the boss fight itself, well, I've always wanted to be able to Earthbend, even if it is impossible; here, my self insert can just manage the basics. It'll be one of his go-to skills as he levels up Geomancy and it becomes more versatile, but right now all he can do is move the ground a little bit. I've got some great stuff in store, though. Stealth, Energy Sprint, and Super Jump are basic things that I'm pretty sure I stole from one of the other Bleach/Gamer fics, _Spirit of the Gamer,_ which is really awesome (if you haven't done so already, go check it out!), though Power Sprint and Power Jump are the names used in that story. The two bonus objectives Rick failed in the Boss Quest were **Complete the quest with half your HP remaining** and **Complete the quest with all your HP remaining _._** With less than fifteen HP left, you can understand why he failed those two. Still, with all that LUK, he managed to gather up some pretty damn good loot, right?

I'm sure I failed (or forgot) to address a few things I was meaning to, so feel free to ask in a review or PM any questions you have or mistakes you notice, and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks for reading, and have a nice day!


	3. The Peanuts Gang

**Author's Note:** Apparently, my new update schedule is every 3-4 days for now. Don't expect it to keep on in this vein; I'm notorious for starting a pretty good story and then leaving it to rot for a few years. Blame my muse and most definitely not me for being a terrible person.

Thanks to everyone reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting. I appreciate you all!

 **Disclaimer** and **Warning** still apply from chapter 1

* * *

 **Chapter 3: The Peanuts Gang**

* * *

The next day, I head to the park at around three, the proud renter of a pretty nice apartment in Karakura Honchou just east of the shopping district. After two days of sleeping in the bushes, it'll be nice to have my HP and MP finally refill completely when I wake up. Thankfully, I had just enough money to pay off the first month's rent and fill up the refrigerator with all the essentials a grown man in a teenager's body needs, but now I'm pretty much broke again.

My plan for today is to figure out a way to exploit the system until dark, take on another Legion Zombie, and call it a successful day at around midnight. I've got an appointment with the registrar at Karakura High School (way across town, unfortunately) bright and early to finalize the registration process I set into motion earlier today, so I need at least _some_ rest.

I hit the community park and make my way to a relatively empty copse of trees, then put up an empty ID so I can get to work. First things first: an experiment.

I pull out a five hundred-yen coin and give it a flip, thinking _heads_. It comes up heads, but I press on. After five flips, it becomes increasingly clear that LUK holds at least some sway over chance, since four out of the five flips came up favorably. Another five flips makes me even more sure, but I also learn something pleasantly surprising, too.

 **By continuously exercising probability, your LUK has increased by 1!**

Oh, man, this has to be something to exploit. Before I knocked out last night, I had been thinking about how to raise my DEX without spending points on it, and I thought that juggling might work. So, going on a hunch, I pull out two more coins and start tossing them up into the air and catching them all over and over. It's surprisingly easy, and I shake my head in amazement that I can improve myself so much with just a press of a button. Carefully, I add another two coins to the rotation, and in only a minute and a half, DEX goes up as well.

Now for the moment of truth. Going back to the original three coins, I flick one, then another, then a third into the air, catch them with the opposite hand, and transfer them back to my thumb and finger one by one so I can flip them again, making sure to glance at the results in passing. It's more difficult than just juggling them, but the effort is well worth it when a point in LUK and DEX appear ten seconds apart.

 **By coming up with a unique training regimen, your WIS has increased by 1!**

"Hell to the fuck yes!" I whoop in elation. Slowly, ever so slowly, I start to walk forward while continuing my flip-juggling, and when I'm sure I can manage set off at a sedate jog. picking up my pace as I go. It's not long until I rack up a VIT point as well, and I have to stop myself from jumping up and clicking my heels together excitedly.

 **By combining training exercises for more efficient gains, your WIS has increased by 1!**

Stopping and catching the coins, I sit down and rest my back against a tree while I think. I've got ways to raise LUK, VIT, and DEX simultaneously, and whenever I come up with another brilliant idea my WIS goes up as well, but how can I incorporate STR and INT training as well?

Well, the only way I can think of to raise INT is by reading, but my hands are already full with the coin flip-juggling, so that's out for now. I can do that in my apartment later anyway. STR on the other hand...Jee Han used weights and running to increase that and VIT at the same time, but since I don't have any training weights, I'll need to improvise.

Snapping my fingers, I leap to my feet and take a solid stance, tapping into Geomancy. So far, all I can do right now with it is move the ground a bit, pull up bricks of ground or rock, and toss them, all involving some sort of gesture; it's really almost exactly like Earthbending. But I can't shape it yet, so I need to start grinding that now.

Keeping an eye on my MP, I start shoving dirt around, more or less, for around two hours, pulling up progressively bigger blocks and holding up more and more mass. It isn't long before Geomancy's risen by three levels (Earth Affinity, too), and I check it again.

 **[Geomancy (Active) Lv 4 Exp: 0.00%]**  
 **Allows the user to manipulate the primal element of earth. Greater master of this skill grants more powerful methods of manipulation.**  
 **Currently Available Abilities:**  
 **Earth Shift- moves the earth**  
 **Earth and Stone Levitation- lifts nearby earth and propels them**  
 **Earth Lift- raises various shapes from the ground, from blocks to columns to walls**  
 **Earth Compression- compresses large chunks of rock into smaller, denser pieces**  
 **Earth Gauntlet- covers parts of the user with rock**

I'd been waiting for the last one, and I quickly form rings of stone around my wrists and ankles just heavy enough to be a burden but not truly hamper my movements. Then I go back to the coin flip-juggle jogging, this time with added weights and a few more coins.

 **By combining training exercises for more efficient gains, your WIS has increased by 1!**

By the time the dusk spreads its starry wings, I've gained ten points each in LUK and DEX and eight for VIT and STR, almost as much progress as the last two days' worth of training combined! I know it'll only get harder from here on out, but damn it I feel like I can face the world single-handed.

Of course, these measly gains are probably worth jack-shit to someone like a Shinigami Captain or an Espada even with their Zanpakuto sealed. Hell, I'd probably be just a fly even to a Lieutenant or a Fraccion. I could probably give a low-level Hollow a run for their money, but that's about it, and if I want to do anything in this damn world I'm going to need to stop getting a big head about this new power and buckle down. The only skills I made any actual headway with were Geomancy and Earth Affinity; I could have been training half a dozen other skills today, but I got carried away with my stats.

Breathing deeply, I calm myself down and chug down a bottle of water I'd brought along. I can't come down too hard on myself, either, though. I did make progress, even if I could have done more. I need to strike a balance between getting too full of myself and being a total bummer.

Pushing those thoughts aside, I watch as the moon rises up past the buildings with a grim smile. Breaking the illusion barrier, I call up a zombie dungeon and start kicking undead ass. It's even easier now than it had been yesterday. With the level disparity going the other way, along with my increase in STR and DEX, I can take them out with just one strike from even the Butterfly Knife. I take the time to dodge, dip, duck, dive, and...dodge my way around them until I've got a whole train of zombies following me. Once it's sizable enough, I bring up two close walls of earth to form a narrow corridor to keep them single-file, and then turn and tear through the conga line like the Tasmanian Devil.

Two hours into the undead massacre, the zombies start to flow together, and I steady myself to face the Legion again. I might have more HP now, and my stats are a little higher, but I won't allow myself to underestimate the fucker.

With a roar, it charges at me, leaning down to crush me between its palm and the ground, but I shoot up out of its reach with a pillar of stone and Super Jump even higher when it swipes through the base. Tossing down a couple Energy Bolts to keep its attention on me when I start falling toward it, I give a sharp pull on the ground below it with clawed hands, just like the last one. Since I'm not in connection with the earth, the shift isn't radical enough to topple the Legion Zombie, but it's enough to unbalance it, and I take advantage, ramming my daggers into its eyes and sending it to the ground, rolling as I land to disperse the momentum.

It takes its time getting back to its feet, blinking fat drops of blood, and I smirk when I see that it's HP is just above the halfway point, while my MP is just about on a quarter tank of gas. Time to employ my new skills.

I jerk my fists toward myself, and two lances of rock jut out of the ground behind the Legion Zombie and dig into its joints, sending it crashing to its knees. In two Energy Sprints, I'm behind the monster, and I jump onto its back, using the knives to stay anchored to it.

"Mana Drain!" I grunt, and a deep orange aura travels down the Butterfly Knife and into the Legion Zombie's skin. Instantly, I feel my energy replenishing, and the Zombie's MP bar ever-so slowly starts draining. It's barely anything, but anything is still something, and I've chosen my spot perfectly. The Legion's proportions are inhumanly elongated, though its trunk is the most affected. The thing's arms just aren't long enough to reach the middle of its back, right where I'm perched.

Curious, I activate Life Drain on top of Mana Drain and get rewarded with a cloud of green flowing into the Legion's body through the ZK.

The Legion Zombie decides that it does _not_ like to be leeched and starts thrashing around violently. I hold on for dear life, wishing I had some cool flip-out shoe blades for a more solid grip, and eventually just pull the knives out and jump away from it, tossing out a couple more Energy Bolts for good measure before landing and once again yanking the ground out from under it to drop the poor bastard for the second time.

Okay, time to test another theory. Using Geomancy, I gouge a dozen arm-length chunks of rock up out of the ground and begin shaping them into the rugged replicas of kunai, those throwing knives that ninja so often use in various forms of media, only on a larger scale. Once all of them are fully formed, I use another of Geomancy's abilities to squeeze them down into a more traditional size, compressing the stone so that it's denser while honing the points and edges until they can easily pierce the Legion Zombie's skin.

"Let's see if I can make another skill," I mutter to myself, depositing my steel knives into Inventory, then take hold of one of the rock daggers and throw it like I did the Butterfly Knife yesterday. To be honest, it's a pretty shitty throw with almost no power behind it, and it bounces off the Legion Zombie with barely a scratch.

Okay, that's alright. I summon it back with a flick of my wrist and do it again, making sure to apply more force. This time it flies wide and thunks into the grass by the Zombie's leg as it starts to rise. Grabbing another two of my constructs, I try again, and again when those miss. This pair find their mark, sinking into the belly of the beast as it straightens to its full height.

 **Here's knife in your eye! Through a special action, a new skill, "Knife Throw", has been created!**

I pull all the daggers back to me and then use another two earth pillars to force the Legion Zombie to kneel once more and start chucking rock daggers at its eyes and ears, dodging as it tries to swat me away with its huge hands. When I run out, I grin in smug satisfaction that the knives have basically blinded the thing, and with a firm forward push with both hands, shove the daggers straight into the Legion Zombie's brain with Geomancy.

Having twelve sharp chunks of rock lodged in its thinker is apparently too much for the Legion Zombie, and with a final growl it vanishes, leaving me with some more spoils and two more levels. There are no Skill Books, but I have enough skills to develop for the moment anyway. Thanks to my increase LUK, though, the stacks of bills even out to a whopping 500,000 yen, I got an even split of fourteen health and mana potions, and five more Soul Gems.

The best part is my new title.

 **Zombie Slayer**  
 **-Obtained by killing 2 Legion Zombies.**  
 **-Your zombie killing skills are unparalleled!**  
 **-Survive the Zombie Apocalypse with the style and skill of Ashley Williams!**  
 **50% increase in attack damage when battling Zombies.**  
 **50% increase in defense when battling Zombies.**  
 **All stats gain +10 when battling Zombies.**

Those perks are so hardcore it should be against the rules! I check the time on my newly-connected phone and find that it's only ten. After a moment's hesitation, I renew the zombie dungeon and have another go at the undead horde, just for the hell of it.

Trudging back to my apartment two hours later, I can't help but feel pretty pleased with myself. "Stats, Skills."

 **Name: Ricky Jimenez**  
 **Job: The Gamer**  
 **Level: 17 Next Level: 51.43%**  
 **Title: Zombie Slayer**

 **HP: 380/380**  
 **MP: 200/200**

 **STR: 17**  
 **VIT: 19**  
 **DEX: 32**  
 **INT: 13**  
 **WIS: 27**  
 **LUK: 32**

 **Points: 50**  
 **Money: ¥1,053,206**

 **[Gamer's Body (Passive) Lv MAX]**  
 **Grants a body that allows the user to live the real world like a game. Sleeping in a bed restores HP, MP, and all mass effects.**

 **[Gamer's Mind (Passive) Lv MAX]**  
 **Allows the user to calmly and logically think things through. Allows peaceful state of mind. Immunity to psychological status effects.**

 **[ID Create (Active) Lv 2 Exp: 67.32%]**  
 **Used to create instant dungeons (illusion barriers). Stronger instant dungeons may be created at higher levels.**  
 **Currently available IDs:**  
 **1\. Empty ID-monsters: none**  
 **2\. Zombie ID-monsters: zombies**  
 **3\. Ghost ID-monsters: ghosts**  
 **4\. Mixed ID-monsters: zombies, ghosts**

 **[ID Escape (Active) Lv 2 Exp: 67.32%]**  
 **Used to escape instant dungeons (illusion barriers).**

 **[Danger Sense (Passive) Lv 12 Exp: 16.03%]**  
 **A natural survival instinct. It allows the user to sense when something bad might happen. The higher the skill level, the earlier the user can sense danger.**  
 **2.2 seconds of early warning.**  
 **(early warning increases by .1 second per level)**

 **[Dagger Mastery (Passive) Lv 19 Exp: 63.92%]**  
 **Allows the user to freely handle daggers.**  
 **19% increase in attack damage with daggers.**  
 **14% increase in attack speed with daggers.**  
 **(attack damage and attack speed increase by .5% per level)**

 **[Physical Endurance (Passive) Lv 6 Exp 12.43%]**  
 **The body's durability increases and the user take less damage.**  
 **8% decrease in damage.**  
 **(damage reduction increases by 1% per level)**

 **[Dodge (Passive) Lv 17 Exp: 3.93%]**  
 **Allows the user an increased chance of moving out of the way of an attack. The higher the skill level, the easier it will be to evade.**  
 **13% chance of evasion.**  
 **(chance of evasion increases by .5% per level)**

 **[Basic First Aid (Passive) Lv 2 Exp: 92.11%]**  
 **Allows the user to more effectively use healing items.**  
 **4% HP recovery increase when using healing items.**  
 **(HP recovery increases by 2% per level)**

 **[Double Stab (Active) Lv 10 Exp: 67.33%]**  
 **The user strikes with two weapons simultaneously to inflict massive damage.**  
 **Must have two weapons with points equipped to use.**  
 **38% increase in critical rate.**  
 **88% increase in attack damage.**  
 **(critical rate and attack damage increase by 2% per level)**

 **[Energy Bolt (Active) Lv 11 Exp: 77.01%%]**  
 **A skill that attacks by emitting mana.**  
 **Attack power increases with INT**  
 **Range: 60m**  
 **(range increases by 5m per level)**

 **[Power Stab (Active) Lv 5 Exp: 15.24%]**  
 **Stabs the target with strong force.**  
 **19% increase in critical rate.**  
 **250% increase in attack damage.**  
 **(critical rate increases by 1% per level, attack damage increases by 50% per level)**

 **[Energy Sprint (Active) Lv 7 Exp: 29.71%]**  
 **Augmenting the user's legs with their natural energy allows for a short burst of greatly-enhanced speed.**  
 **70% increase in movement speed.**  
 **(movement speed increases by 10% per level)**

 **[Stealth (Passive) Lv 2 Exp: 16.89%]**  
 **A skill used to aid in hiding from sight. The user must remain still or the effects of this skill will be negated. Methods of detection not involving sight (ex: sound, scent, magic, etc) are unaffected.**  
 **15% decrease in chance of detection**  
 **(chance of detection decreases by 5% per level)**

 **[Earth Affinity (Passive) Lv 6 Exp: 1.09%]**  
 **The user gains a stronger connection to the primal element of earth, giving them a boost to any abilities dependent upon the earth. Elemental affinities learned after this will be harder to learn.**  
 **30% decrease in mana cost to all earth-element skills**  
 **30% increase in power to all earth-element skills**  
 **(mana cost decreases by 2% per level, power increases by 2% per level)**

 **[Geomancy (Active) Lv 6 Exp: 15.44%]**  
 **Allows the user to manipulate the primal element of earth. Greater master of this skill grants more powerful methods of manipulation.**  
 **Currently Available Abilities:**  
 **Earth Shift- moves the earth**  
 **Earth and Stone Levitation- lifts nearby earth and propels them**  
 **Earth Lift- raises various shapes from the ground, from blocks to columns to walls**  
 **Earth Compression- compresses large chunks of rock into smaller, denser pieces**  
 **Earth Gauntlet- covers parts of the user with rock**  
 **Earth Mannequin- crafts replicas of human appendages or bodies from any rock source and moves them from place to place**

 **[Super Jump (Active) Lv 3 Exp: 0.42%]**  
 **Augmenting the user's legs with their natural energy allows them to leap great distances.**  
 **30% increase in forward leap**  
 **30% increase in vertical jump**  
 **(forward leap and vertical jump increase by 10% per level**

 **[Life Drain (Active) Lv 2 Exp: 72.81%]**  
 **Technique possessed by some middle rank or above undead. This technique manipulates life force. It absorbs the target's life force and adds it to the user's. With training, it is possible to transfer the user's life force to allies.**

 **[Mana Drain (Active) Lv 2 Exp: 73.01%]**  
 **Technique possessed by some middle rank or above undead. This technique manipulates magic energy. It absorbs the target's magic energy and adds it to the user's. With training, it is possible to transfer the user's magic energy to allies.**

 **[Knife Throw (Active) Lv 4 Exp: 5.67%]**  
 **A skill that allows the user to accurately and effectively throw small knives with lethal force.**  
 **Range: 25m**  
 **Limit: 1 Knife per Hand**  
 **(Range increases by 5m per level, Limit increases by 1 Knife every 5 levels)**

As I make my way up through the building and into my place, I think about the skills I've collected so far. When taken all together, they look like the beginning skill set of an aspiring rogue. Personally, I've always favored the rogue class in any RPG compared to any others, and considering the rest of the main characters, a quick, speedy-type would fit well with the others.

Ichigo is the protagonist, with more badass flowing off him than he knows what to do with; he's basically the Heavy of the outfit, able to deal more damage and take more hits than virtually anyone else in the series. Seriously, when I think of all the punishment that kid has gone through...Anyway, Chad's the tank, the most durable one besides Ichigo, and he's got a couple heavy-duty attacks of his own. Orihime is the support member with that ludicrously OP ability to freaking reject _reality_ itself, which means she puts even the most accomplished healers to shame. Uryu is the ranged fighter with his Quincy powers, and he's got his own little bag of tricks to take care of anyone even without his powers.

I still don't know how far before the events of the first episode I've landed, so I need to find Uryu. He'll be the strongest one right now, so he'll be the benchmark I have to set for myself. Even so, a Lv 17 rogue with badass Earthbending powers is pretty good for only having been around for three days, if I do say so myself.

With a sigh, I drop into bed ( _my_ bed), and drop off into a peaceful slumber. Tomorrow, I'm goin' back to school.

* * *

 **You have slept in your own bed. HP and MP are fully restored!**

Oh, it feels so good to wake up in a bed again! I'm normally not much of a morning person, but today seems so shiny and chrome, I can't help but skip into the kitchenette and start preparing a ham and cheese omelette with some bacon and hash browns for breakfast while putting together a couple of BLTs for lunch on the side.

Just as I crack the eggs into a bowl, I get a new notification.

 **The fish is so raw, it asked me if I'd seen his son! Through a special action, a new skill, "Cooking", has been created!**

 **[Cooking (Passive) Lv 1 Exp: 0.00%]**  
 **Make delicious meals with the skills of a master chef! Creates food that besides filling a body up also grants stat buffs for a while.** **Higher levels grant more powerful and longer-lasting buffs.**

Well, I know what I'm doing on my next day off! Back in the old dimension, my household consisted of six adults, a teenager, and a pre-teen, and I usually cooked one or two meals for at least four of them a day. Besides that, I mean...I smoke weed, and stoners as a rule of thumb are great chefs. I know how to make some bomb-ass food, if I do say so myself, so this skill should level fairly quickly.

Once all the food is done, I Observe it, curious to see what kind of buffs my meal grants.

 **[Omelette Breakfast Plate (Rank: Normal)/Type: Food]**  
 **A ham and cheese-filled omelette with three rashers of bacon and a sling of hash, made with care by Ricky Jimenez.**  
 **+1 VIT**  
 **(effects last for 2 hours)**

 **[BLT Sandwich (Rank: Normal)/Type: Food] x2**  
 **Bacon rashers, lettuce leaves, and tomato slices on wheat bread spread with butter and mayonnaise, made with care by Ricky Jimenez.**  
 **\+ 1 STR**  
 **(effects last for 2 hours)**

Well, it's not much, but this _is_ the first meal I've made with the skill, so it's bound to start getting better. Polishing it off quickly, I'm ready and out the door twenty minutes later at a steady jog toward the high school in the Karakura uniform of light gray slacks and a white short-sleeve button-up. I leave the shirt untucked and keep the tie in a loose half-Windsor knot (I've never been a fan of ties).

Registering for class is a fairly simple matter, which is a big relief for me since I didn't want to spend half the day in that office. Fortunately, the registrar had called a student in anticipation of me needing a guide, so I follow _Lv 14: Arisawa Tatsuki_ of the Disciplinary Committee as she points the various landmarks and places of interest to me while I subtly Observe her.

 **Name: Arisawa Tatsuki**  
 **Job: Karate Instructor**  
 **Gender: Female**  
 **Age: 15**  
 **Level: 15**  
 **Title: Second-Strongest Girl in Japan**

 **HP: 700/700**  
 **MP: 760/760**

 **STR: 39**  
 **VIT: 35**  
 **DEX: 29**  
 **INT:38**  
 **WIS: 18**  
 **LUK: 20**

 **Status: Normal**  
 **Bio: Tatsuki is a driven young woman who has constantly pushed herself in the pursuit of perfecting her skills in karate in honor of her deceased father, who had been an Olympic gold medalist.**

Geez, even with all my passive skill buffs this girl could probably still kick my ass. What's with those stats? Frowning, I realize that I'm going to need to step up my training significantly if even a normal (for lack of a better word) person has higher stats than me even at a lower level. I might need to allocate those spare points I've been saving for a rainy day.

"So where are you from, anyway?" the short-haired girl asks, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"A city called South Gate," I reply, smiling as I recall my home town. "It's pretty close to Los Angeles, in California." Her face gains an understanding cast and I continue. "Japan is very different from the States, but I suppose that's to be expected, being, y'know, a whole other country."

She snorts. "Yeah, I can imagine. Why'd you move here, anyway?"

I shrug, having already come up with a cover story the night before while my body was killing small-fry zombies on autopilot. "I just needed to spread my wings, I guess. I love my family and everything, but I'm only going to be young once, and I feel like seeing a little more of the world wouldn't hurt."

Tatsuki nods in understanding. "I know what you mean. I travel a bit with the karate club, and it's always amazing to see new places, even in the same country you're born in."

"You're in the karate club? That's pretty awesome," I quip, already knowing, but wanting to seem involved in the conversation so it won't get awkward. "You any good?"

With a smirk, she lifts her arm and grips her biceps firmly. "I don't mean to brag, but I came in second last year at nationals. Aside from the club here at school, I also teach a beginner's class at Furin Hall."

I frown in recognition. "I think I passed that place yesterday. It's in Karakura Honchou, isn't it? By the shopping district? That's like a block from my apartment." I hadn't realized the dojo is where Ichigo and Tatsuki met as teeny-weeny little kids.

"You should drop by sometime," she offers. "I'll show you some moves."

After only a moment's consideration, I nod eagerly. "That's be great! I used to take a Korean martial arts class as a kid, but...well, life got in the way. It'd be fun to see what's similar and what's different from what I remember." Hopefully, learning a martial art will give me another passive skill to improve my effectiveness in close quarters.

By that time, we've gotten to the room where I'll be taking my freshman year over; Urahara, the bastard, gave me the same damn grades I'd had in my old life, and I dropped out of high school in the ninth grade. So despite the fact that I look seventeen, I've gotten stuck in a classroom full of fifteen-year-olds. Thankfully, there's at least one who looks older than me. Probably has better facial hair than I do, too.

The teacher, one Fukushima-sensei, gestures the two of us inside, where class has already begun. Tatsuki shoots me a thumbs-up and takes her seat, leaving me to stand at the front of the class.

"Everyone, this is our new foreign-exchange student from America," Fukushima says. He's an elderly old fellow with a receding salt-and-pepper hairline and glasses; in other words, pretty forgettable. "Would you like to introduce yourself?"

I step forward, forcing a grin to my face (I really don't like being the center of attention) and say, "Hello, my name is Jimenez Ricky, from California. I've just recently moved here, so please take good care of me." With a quick bow, I finish by writing my name in hiragana (which I have no clue how I learned).

"You can take the seat behind Kurosaki, the orange-haired kid," Fukushima intones, and I quickly make my escape toward the back of the class, internally pumping my fist; everyone knows that the closer you are to the window, the more important you are, and I just scored a prime seat.

I slide behind the desk and keep my head down, opening a notebook and scribbling some notes. The first class of the day begins and I slowly begin to scan everyone's levels, silently Observing as I keep half a mind on the lecture.

 **Name: Kurosaki Ichigo**  
 **Job: High School 1st Year**  
 **Gender: Male**  
 **Age: 15**  
 **Level: 15**  
 **Title: None**

 **HP: 680/680**  
 **MP: 740/740**

 **STR: 38**  
 **VIT: 34**  
 **DEX: 30**  
 **INT: 38**  
 **WIS: 20**  
 **LUK: 25**

 **Status: Normal**  
 **Bio: Firstborn son and big brother, Ichigo takes his responsibility towards his family very seriously, and will do whatever it takes to protect them from harm. This stems from a childhood trauma in seeing his mother die.**

With a stifled snort of amusement, I realize that his stats are almost identical to Tatsuki's. I suppose it fits, and my resolve to really put my nose to the grind-stone hardens considerably. For all I know, he's going to jump fifty levels once he steals Rukia's powers.

 **Name: Sado Yasutora**  
 **Job: High School 1st Year**  
 **Gender: Male**  
 **Age: 16**  
 **Level: 14**  
 **Title:**

 **HP: 860/860**  
 **MP: 380/380**

 **STR: 40**  
 **VIT: 43**  
 **DEX: 13**  
 **INT: 19**  
 **WIS: 15**  
 **LUK: 9**

 **Status: Normal**  
 **Bio: Born in Japan and raised in Mexico, Yasutora was brought up by his grandfather and taught to only use his fists in defense of others, a lesson he has taken to heart.**

Man, Chad's a beast! Forty STR points and even _more_ VIT? It's no wonder he could take on Hollows and survive steel girders falling on him even as a human. It must be that dormant Fullbring ability in him.

 **Name: Ishida Uryu**  
 **Job: High School 1st Year**  
 **Gender: Male**  
 **Age: 15**  
 **Level: 24**

 **HP:360/360**  
 **MP:860/860**

 **STR: 26**  
 **VIT: 25**  
 **DEX: 60**  
 **INT: 53**  
 **WIS: 41**  
 **LUK: 22**

 **Status: Normal**  
 **Bio: The last Quincy in Japan who honors his heritage, Uryu was trained by his grandfather in the ways of the Quincy. He was forced to watch helplessly as Soken was killed by Hollows in an attempt to hold them off until Shinigami reinforcements could arrive, harboring a deep grudge against Soul Society because of it.**

That seems about right considering the others high stats. DEX isn't only useful when it comes to speed; it'd make sense that an archer would have that stat raised to a ludicrous degree. I'd almost forgotten about the fact that he'd witnessed his grandpa be overwhelmed by Hollows, too. It might have something to do with why he ended up joining the Vandenreich in the end as well.

 **Name: Inoue Orihime**  
 **Job: High School 1st Year**  
 **Gender: Female**  
 **Age: 15**  
 **Level: 13**  
 **Title:**

 **STR: 18**  
 **VIT: 20**  
 **DEX: 16**  
 **INT: 39**  
 **WIS: 29**  
 **LUK: 40**

 **Status: Normal**  
 **Bio: Born to a mother and father thoroughly unfit for parenthood, Orihime was raised by her elder brother, who tragically passed away when she was in middle school. However, she does not let her dark past affect her eternally optimistic attitude.**

It's been so long since I've seen the first season of Bleach that I'd forgotten how fucked up these kids had it. Man, Tite Kubo really enjoyed putting his characters through the ringer. He's like the manga-ka version of George R.R. Martin, now that I really stop and think about it.

I spend the rest of the morning keeping one ear on the lesson while Observing everything around me to stave off boredom. Finally, the bell signalling lunch sounds, and I open my bag (where I activate my Inventory) and pull out my BLTs, along with the bag of candy and bottle of pomegranate juice I'd picked up along the way to supplement the sandwiches.

"Oi, new kid." I look up from my desk to find a couple of hooligan-types leering down at me. Wow, not even my first day and already getting bullied. It's a good thing I've never been easily intimidated. I remember these two as having even worse stats than the average student from my Observation.

Plastering a somewhat simple smile on my face, I ask, "How can I help you fine young gentlemen today?"

The fact that I show no fear or trepidation throws them off guard, and it takes a moment for them to rally. "Uh, see the thing is we forgot our lunches at home and don't have any money to pay at the cafeteria."

The sob-story is about as imaginative as the plot of James Cameron's _Avatar_ , but I'll play along, just to see what happens.

"Oh, well that's just terrible," I say, frowning sympathetically. I reach into my bag (and Inventory) and pull out twelve-hundred yen. A simple meal, I've come to find, costs around five to eight hundred yen at most low-end restaurants. School cafeteria lunches shouldn't be that expensive. "Here, have lunch on me. Nutrition is very important for growing young people such as ourselves."

Not seeming to believe their luck, the guys smirk at each other, bumping fists as inconspicuously as they can (which is not very, incidentally), and race off before I can get another word in edge-wise.

 **You've been hit by, you've been struck by a smooth criminal! Through a special action, a new skill, "Thievery", has been created!**

Snorting, I go back to my meal, but feel eyes on me. Looking up, I see my front desk neighbor scowling down at me. If I was anyone else I'd have probably been a little put off, but as it is I just find it a little amusing. To be honest, I think he just frowned so much after his mom died that his face got stuck that way by default.

"You know they didn't need that money," he grunted.

Nodding, I lean back in my seat and grin, pulling out a pair of wallets and dropping them on the tabletop. "It's easier to trick a fool into believing they've won than argue with them and be tricked in kind," I state casually.

He stares at the wallets for a moment, then lets out a bark of laughter. "And I was just about to tell you off for being an easy target."

"Not me," I agree. "Those losers picked the wrong foreign-exchange student to mess with."

"Your name was Himenezo Riki?" he asks, using the hiragana phonetics I'd written up on the board at the beginning of class.

"Just Rick is fine," I say. "And your name was Kurosaki, right?"

"Yeah," he nods. "Kurosaki Ichigo." When I smile at his name he frowns and growls. "And no, it doesn't mean 'Strawberry'. It's..."

"...Ichi as in 'ichitosho' and Go as in 'shugo tenshi'," I interrupt. "Your name means 'First Guardian'. I don't really get the strawberry vibe off of you, oddly enough."

He doesn't lose the scowl, but it gains a shade of bafflement as I use his own little explanation against him. Finally, he dips his head in acknowledgement. "You're probably the first person not to confuse my name for a fruit."

My eyes flicking up to his hair, I shrug. "I mean, it _is_ fitting..."

He grimaces and ruffles his the bright thatch atop his head. "Fucking genetics," he grumbles, then looks back at me. "Look, if you wanna join my friends and I on the roof for lunch, you can. Otherwise, whatever."

Then he stalks off, forcing some of the remaining students out of his way with his dark glare alone. Man, that kid is pretty funny; I can see what Orihime meant back in that old episode.

Stretching, I toss my food into my bag and trot after the orange-haired teen until I'm up at the top of the main building, just in time to witness Ichigo clothesline a few IQ points out of Keigo's head.

"You're such a mean guy," Keigo pouts, then catches sight of me. "Oh, hey new kid."

I wave cheerfully and sit down a respectful distance away. "Hi there. I'm Jimenez Ricky; you can call me Rick for short."

Keigo, Mizuiro, and Chad all introduce themselves in turn, and we settle into inane lunchtime chatter as we eat. Thankfully, _Lv 7: Asano Keigo_ and _Lv 9: Kojima Mizuiro_ have more normal stats, with an average of about fifteen all around. If these two had better stats than me, I'd have just let myself get eaten by the fist Hollow that came around and be done with it.

"You look a lot like Chad, except not as tall," Keigo says curiously as he gobbles down a rice ball.

I turn to the big guy and answer, "Well, I'm guessing Sado-san has some Mexican blood in his veins, right?" At his slow nod, I continue, "I've got quite a bit of Hispanic genes myself, so I suppose it's only natural that we've got similar skin tones."

"Do you live alone?" Mizuiro asks after flipping his phone closed. It's odd, but I didn't notice until now that I've technically got future-technology in my pocket at this moment. When _did_ the Bleach timeline take place again? '04, '06? Must be something like that.

"Yeah, I've got a little apartment in Karakura Honchou, about halfway between the shopping district and the old train station," I reply, popping some chips into my mouth. They've got some wacky flavors here in Japan, but I kind of miss eating Takis already.

"So what do you like to do, anyway?" Keigo continues the questioning. It's a little weird for me, to be honest; I'm more introverted, and the few times I've moved to a new school I spent the first week or so eating by myself and gauging people's personalities before I try to make friends.

"Ah, well," I scratch the back of my head thoughtfully. "I like to read, mostly. Video games are always a fun way to kill time, too, but I'll always pick a good book over a new game any day."

"So you're a nerd," Keigo surmises, only to get walloped by a newly-arrived Tatsuki. "OW, what the he-oh..." He trails off awkwardly upon seeing who had assaulted him. Apparently, Tatsuki's got a reputation.

"It's not nice to call people names, Asano," she reprimands.

"He's not wrong," I point out, letting them all know I didn't take offense, and Keigo gestures to me victoriously.

"See? He's a proud nerd," he whines, only to get another lump for his troubles.

"That doesn't excuse the fact," she shoots back before turning to me. "I had forgotten to ask if you needed help finding the cafeteria," she says, glancing down at the sandwich in my hands, "but I guess you brought your own lunch."

"Be prepared, that's my motto," I respond with a wink. "Thanks, though." I notice Orihime standing behind Tatsuki and smile at her. "Hi, I'm Rick."

"Oh, I'm Inoue Orihime," she beams at me. "You're the foreign-exchange student, aren't you?"

"Guilty as charged."

Her eyes widen in confusion. "Guilty? Are you on the run from the law? Is that why you escaped to Japan from America?"

I can't help the laughter that bubbles up out of my mouth. She really is kind of an airhead, despite her grades. "Sorry, it's an expression where I'm from; I guess I shouldn't be surprised that it doesn't translate well here. I'm not a criminal, at least not a wanted criminal, anyway."

My gaze slides toward Ichigo for a moment and he catches my eye with a slight smirk.

"Which reminds me," I say, withdrawing the wallets I'd snatched from my pocket and handing them to Tatsuki. "I think I remember the registrar saying you're on the Disciplinary Committee? I found these in the hallway, do you think you could make sure they're returned to their owners?"

Tatsuki accepts them and opens them up to check the ID, frowning. "I know these two punks alright," she concludes, "though it'd serve them right if I held onto them for a day while they sweated it out."

"I'll leave that up to you," I say with a grin. The bell rings, and I quickly stuff the rest of my sandwich down my throat, washing it down with the juice. "Okay, back to class!"

When school is over, I wave goodbye to my new acquaintances and head off to Urahara Shop.

"Hey, Tessai-san!" I call out as I enter the premises. "How are you?"

"Very well, thank you," he responds, sweeping some dust off the porch. "Are you here to see the boss?"

"If he's not busy," I agree, smiling. "I've got a few more items he might find interesting."

Tessai waves me in, adding, "He's likely to be in his office fiddling with the things he acquired the other day from you."

Geta-Boushi is, as Tessai said, in his study, looking at something through a microscope. "Good afternoon, Rick-san," he proclaims as I enter. "I'll be with you in just a moment."

'A moment' turns out to mean half an hour in mad-genius time, but I don't mind; I get a chance to read and unwind, gaining another INT point in the process. Finally, with a final notation on one of the hundreds of papers that clutters his desk, Urahara sets his pen down and turns to me.

"Now, what can I do for you, my good man?"

In answer, I pull out two of the Soul Gems and set them on the desk. "Well, I've got eight of these now..."

"...been killing giant zombies without me?" he interjects with a faux-pout.

"...and I was wondering if you could find any uses for them," I finish, ignoring his outburst with the ease of having lived with half a dozen little siblings who enjoy interrupting conversations. "Observe calls them Soul Gems. They're a larger, possibly more potent version of Soul Stones."

Urahara shuffles around some papers and brings an impressive stack around to rest in his lap. "Those Soul Stones are very interesting things," he confesses. "I've done quite a bit of studying them yesterday. Tell me, did you know that many times, human souls who do not require the intervention of a Shinigami to pass on to the Afterlife sometimes leave bits of themselves behind?" I shake my head, intrigued.

"Yes, well, most of those pieces are things like dreams they never accomplished or things they never told someone they cared about," the scientist continues. "It's somewhat sad if you really think about it, but not many in Soul Society do think about these little pieces, since they do not have any impact on anything, really. It's just seen as a curious phenomenon."

Frowning, I ask, "So the Soul Stones don't actually have any use?"

"I didn't say that, did I?" Urahara denies. "The Soul Stones (and Soul Gems, I would imagine) are those bits of soul brought together and crystallized. The substance itself is very similar to sekiseki, with many of the same properties. The only difference is that the Soul Stones contain spiritual energy, and I would assume if you got enough together they would exert some amount of spiritual pressure."

It takes me a moment to process that, but my mind begins coming up with all sorts of uses for it. "So they repel spiritual energy then...Would something made of this material be resistant to spirit-based attacks, like armor or a shield?"

Seeing that I grasp at least the basic concept, Urahara grins. "Theoretically, it is a very likely outcome."

"Right," I nod decisively. "I've got to create a Crafting skill. Do you have any duct-tape?"

He smirks, sliding open a cabinet to reveal rows upon rows of the stuff. "I wouldn't be a true scientist without it."

* * *

 **After-Action Report:** This chapter doesn't precisely move the plot forward, but it introduces the main characters of Bleach and shows just how the SI is going to start leveling up his stats quickly. I think I did a pretty good job in exploiting the system into being able to get points for almost every stat at once; and now that Geomancy has the Earth Hand/Mannequin ability, he can levitate a slab of rock with a book in front of him and use the rock hand to turn pages while he's coin flip-juggling and jogging with weights as well. I'm thinking of adding in a unicycle and chainsaws for good measure, too.

There's not much else to talk about this chapter, I think. There was a bit of character interaction, but it was only the bare minimum; after all, Rick's just met these kids and they are definitely kids in his mind despite only 2-years of physical difference in age.

Anyway, anything I forgot to address can be brought up in a review or PM, and as always, have a nice day!


	4. Just Another Brick in the Wall

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the wait on this chapter. I ended up taking a trip to New Mexico to visit family there and was therefore unable to write or upload anything for a while. But now I'm back, and right in time for Christmas! So enjoy this holiday present from yours truly!

Also, I've put up SI!Rick's character sheet, skill list, and inventory up on my profile so's I ain't gotta put it in the actual story and muck it up. So if you want a reference or are simply curious, it's there if you need it.

 **Disclaimer** and **Warning** still apply from the first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 4:** **Just Another Brick in the Wall**

* * *

It's about twenty minutes later that I notice a strange presence nearby. Urahara and I have been trying various methods of taping Soul Stones together in his basement but so far nothing has stuck (I know, I'm terrible). I sent him away about ten minutes ago with a wad of cash, telling him to get a bunch of arts and crafts supplies, but I suspect he delegated the task to poor Ururu or Jinta in lieu of conducting more experiments on the other potions I'd handed off to him (he'd blown through the other bottles in five hours from what Tessai told me).

My Danger Sense isn't exactly letting out a warning so much as a tickle at the back of my neck, but it never hurts to be aware of one's surroundings. I straighten from my hunched position over the flat stone table I made and look around, but I'm only confronted with the regular view of the wasteland.

"Huh." After another brief scan, I set back to work, using a small drill fashioned from stone to bore a hole through a few teeth to see if I can make some sort of necklace or bracelet that might give some extra power or add a cool effect to my attacks. Still, that itch on my neck won't go away and I find myself glancing around suspiciously every now and again. By the time I've finished drilling through about forty teeth I'm at my wits' end with paranoia and finally jump up.

"Whoever's there, show yourself!" I call out. I don't know what I'm expecting, but having a black cat jump down off my head (where it had previously gone unnoticed somehow) is definitely not it.

I stare blankly down at the animal form of _Lv ?: Shihoin Yoruichi_ , then at her tail, and smack myself in the forehead. It hadn't been Danger Sense that was figuratively tickling the back of my neck, it was the tail of a cat literally flicking across it.

"Oh my God, I'm such an idiot," I mutter to myself, settling back into a cross-legged position on the stone seat. I reach into my Inventory and pull out a sushi bento I picked up along the way at a store and offer it to the feline, who has yet to make a move or indicate that she's anything more than an ordinary house cat.

"Here ya go, kitty-kitty," I do my best not to fall into pet-speak, breaking apart the roll so the fish inside is easier to get to. I used to do this with my own cat Pumelo, who was a fiend for spicy tuna. "You've got some serious skills for me to not notice you sitting on my head the whole time. Well, maybe I'm just terrible at keeping track of my surroundings."

"I'd say it was the second one," Yoruichi says, licking her lips after polishing off the meat with gusto. That baritone voice catches me off-guard even with me expecting it; she's definitely all about that bass, no treble. "Do you have anything to wash that down? Some _sake_ perhaps?"

Clearing my throat and quickly wiping the surprise off my face, I grab my liquor bottle and pour some into the cap. "No sake, but I do have some tequila, if you'd like to try some. I don't usually hang out with talking cats so I wouldn't know your preference."

Yoruichi sniffs the cap, takes a tentative lick, then grabs the cap gently between her teeth an knocks it back like a shot. "I like this drink," she states, slapping the cap back to me. "Another." Shrugging, I pour some more for her, then take a swig myself. Two more each and I get back to work after pulling apart the rest of the sushi roll for her to nibble on. "So, what exactly are you doing? And, if I may be so forward, _who_ are you?"

Blinking, I cock my head to the side. Didn't Urahara tell her about me. "I'm Rick. I just...ah, moved here, I suppose would be the proper term for it. Urahara-san has been kind enough to allow me the use of his basement to work in. He's off getting some supplies right now, but he should be back soon, if he didn't send one of his underlings in his place."

She pads over to the supplies and bats around a Soul Stone lightly. "What are these?" she asks curiously.

"They're Soul Stones," I explain as I pick up one of the shards myself. "According to Urahara-san, they're made out of the remnants of human souls who have passed on naturally to the Afterlife, crystallized and given form by my ability. We're trying to come up with ways to use them."

"An ability, eh?" Yoruichi snickered. "I can see why Kisuke keeps you around, then. Some interesting power that he doesn't quite know what to do with...yes, I understand now. Your name is Rick, then...are you a foreigner?"

Grinning, I stand up and stretch. "In more ways than one," I reply. "Wanna see my powers, Cat? I've only had 'em for three days, but I think it's fairly impressive for that."

She smirks, hopping up onto my shoulder with the grace only cats can achieve. "Very well. Show me what's got Kisuke so interested in you."

I've been meaning to do this anyway, so I figure I might as well show off a bit. I raise my hand and summon an Energy Bolt, but keep it compressed in my hand. Frowning in concentraton, I will it to rotate in place. Slowly, it begins spinning on its axis, growing larger as I pump more power into it.

 **You have thought of a new skill! Would you like to name it?**

"Spiral Bolt," I intone, and confirm when my ability asks for it, then fire it into a nearby boulder. The blast hammers into the stone, digging halfway through it before expending its remaining energy in a bright blast.

"Not bad," Yoruichi yawns, draping herself across my neck. "I've seen better."

Taking that as a challenge, I chuckle. "Alright then. Looks like I'm going to have to get creative." Next, I pull up another Energy Bolt, forcing it to lengthen and slim down until it's the size and shape of a small javelin.

 **You have thought of a new skill! Would you like to name it?**

"Mana Lance," I decide on; to me, lance sounds better than arrow. Before I throw it, though, I make my construct spin, and get another prompt to name a new skill. I smile and say, "Spiral Spirit Spear," just for added alliterative appeal, then send it zipping through the air.

This time, it spears right through the boulder, leaving a hole about three inches wide. Not giving Yoruichi a chance to comment on my latest move, I settle into a horse stance (good for taking dumps), which I've begun associating with my Geomancy first and foremost.

In three precise motions, I've got my dozen dirt daggers (patent pending) floating around me. This seems to intrigue Yoruichi, as she actually moves to my head, pawing the one floating there. "This is new," she finally says.

"Just a little something I came up with," I utter humbly before trying my new trick. I grab two of the kunai and start channeling power into them. They promptly shatter in my grip, leaving me with scraped palms and two handfuls of crumbling rocks.

Yoruichi snorts. "Was that supposed to happen?"

"Not exactly," I admit, grabbing two more and gently feeding energy into these ones, much more slowly and in less volume than last time. "Like I said, I've only been doing this stuff for three days; trial and error are my two best friends right now. Can't stop just because a couple rocks blow up on me."

I sense Yoruichi nod in approval, but stay focused on my earth diggers, which are beginning to glow a deep, vibrant green. When they start humming softly, I take aim and throw them into yet another boulder. The daggers sink all the way down to their pommel rings, then promptly explode. For an aspiring rogue, I'm getting worryingly good at loud booms.

 **You have thought of a new skill! Would you like to name it?**

I think for a moment before settling on, "Boom Blade," in keeping with the alliteration theme.

 **Geomancy has leveled up!**  
 **Earth Affinity has leveled up!**

"Can you make a platform of earth?" Yoruichi asks, and when I nod, she commands, "Make one in front of you."

Bemused, I follow her order, bringing up a slab of stone about the size of a lunch tray and leave it hovering at chest level. Yoruichi slides onto it, jumping up and down experimentally. It bobs once or twice before I steady the thing, then she sits with her tail curled around her paws.

"You have quite an interesting power," she tells me. "You can pull things out of thin air, you can create and utilize spirit energy, and you have the fascinating ability to manipulate and shape earth and stone. Anything I'm forgetting?"

"Well, you didn't forget, since I haven't shown you," I allow, "but I'm able to level up like a video game character, I know people's names and sometimes their own level relative to mine at a glance, I can gain more in-depth knowledge with a thought, and I can raise my own stats according to my own whims, with a lot of room for growth. Oh, and apparently I can essentially create matter from nothing by using spirit particles to make Instant Dungeons."

Yoruichi blinks at my explanation of my ability. "What is my name?"

"Shihoin Yoruichi," I answer promptly. "I can't tell your level, just like Tessai-san and Urahara-san, since the difference between yours and mine is too large. I've got a hunch that anyone more than three times my level will show up as question marks, so until I'm about level eighty or so you three will always show up as unknowns. Of course, that's just a guess; for all I know you're all level 1000 and it'll take my whole life to get halfway to you guys."

"That's very flattering and informative," Yoruichi states, "and my name is indeed Shihoin Yoruichi. Of course, Kisuke or Tessai could have told you my name. You don't seem to be very surprised to find a talking cat who is, by your estimation, much more than thrice your own level, which is...?"

"Oh, I'm at level seventeen right now, but by the end of the day, I'm aiming for maybe another two. I still need to make a Crafting skill, though..." I trail off, wondering where the hell Geta-Boushi.

"Rick-san, I'm back!" Speak of the devil and he shall appear. He hops down, arms laden with bags, but drops them when he spots the black cat. "Hey, Yoruichi, you're here?"

"Figured five months is a long enough vacation," the cat shrugs. "Where'd you find this one?"

"He found me, actually," Urahara smiles happily. "Quite fortuitous for me that an enigma would just jump into my lap like a faithful doggy to stave off my boredom."

"I'm right here," I grunt, eyebrow twitching.

"Now that you've returned we can both play with him," Urahara continues as if he didn't even here me. "But before we do that..." he picks up the dropped purchases and presents them to me. "I used all the money you gave me, so hopefully this will last for a while." Inside are plenty of goodies, and I'm sure we can make at least _something_ out of this stuff.

Pulling out a leather thong, I thread it through about ten of the prepped teeth before cutting and tying it together.

 **Making things is easy! Through a special action, a new skill, "Crafting", has been created!**

 **You have learned the recipe for "Zombie-Tooth Necklace"!**

I grin and give Urahara a thumbs-up. "Looks like it worked," I say, bending a stool into existence for my assistant as I sit back down on my own.

"You know," Urahara says idly as he starts messing around with his own pile of bones and shiny rocks, "I was wondering...since your Mana Points work almost exactly like reishi, and Soul Stones are made up of discarded reishi, would your Mana Drain would work on the Soul Stones?"

I stop what I'm doing and gape at him like a big fool. Why the hell didn't I think of that? I pinch a Soul Stone between my thumb and forefinger, thinking _Mana Drain_ , and the orange glow that lets me know it's working envelops the pink sliver. After about thirty seconds the Soul Stone shatters and dissolves into nothing, but that doesn't matter to me in the slightest.

Sucking the Soul Stone dry replenishes twenty MP, and while it isn't much, just the fact that it's possible is an incredible discovery. Next thing I try it on is a Soul Gem, which takes nearly a minute and a half to crumble and fade and gives me an even one hundred MP, along with a level to Mana Drain.

Now that I know the stones can be affected by my skills, I decide to try something else. These things are technically stones, so I impose my will upon them with Geomancy, thinking of the general shape of the Dirt Daggers I've been using as throwing fodder. It takes ten Soul Stones to make one normal sized throwing knife, and I quickly end up using the rest of my stones. I try using the Soul Gems as well, but they turn out to be resistant to my efforts. I chalk it up to Geomancy not being at a high enough level for me to manipulate any earth matter besides stone and dirt. Soon, though...

The end result is ten shimmering pink kunai, and curiously enough two levels in Crafting and a recipe for "Soul Slivers".

 **[Soul Slivers (Rank: Normal)/Type: Dagger]**  
 **A blade created from Soul Stones and shaped like a kunai. Particularly good at channeling spirit energy, useful as a throwing knife.**  
 **Req. DEX: 15**  
 **+3 to Knife Throw Skill, +5% MP recharge**

The Dirt Daggers I've been using usually just disappear along with the enemy I use them to kill, but these are actually items with their own effects and everything. Resolving to farm for Soul Stones like crazy tomorrow, I end up handing one over to Urahara.

"Keep it," I tell him. "I'm going to be making a ton of these soon enough, so there'll be no shortage on my end. The Gamer calls them Soul Slivers." I might just be wasting all the stuff I give to him, but there's always the off-chance that Urahara might give me some more awesome ways to utilize my ability.

He gratefully accepts it, holding it up so the light filters through its translucent blade and casts a carnation glow across his face. "Well, you won't hear me complaining about receiving such fine gifts." Pocketing the knife, he turns back to me. "So what will you be doing tonight?"

"I'm gonna exercise to pick up some more stat points for a few hours, then take on the Legion Zombie again. Maybe three times today, so I can farm some more Soul Gems and money."

"Hold on," Yoruichi interjects. "Your ability creates money for you?"

I shoot her a superior smirk and a thumbs-up. "I told you that my ability makes things out of nothing. I've got to pay the bills somehow, now that I have an apartment of my own to maintain."

Yoruichi gives Urahara a questioning look, and he shrugs with a gesture that I think means, "I'll tell you later."

"That certainly is convenient," the cat admits. "You said you were going to exercise."

Nodding, I stand up, scooping my leftover crafting materials into Inventory and make my training weights, compressing more earth into them for a heftier weight, adding a stone vest just to be safe.

Then I show them how I did my stats training the day before, flip-juggle-jogging around the basement. Two minutes in a brainwave hits me, and after a bit of experimentation, I set my Louis L'Amour short story anthology onto a floating desk of stone that has a rocky hand at the top. Then, making sure my concentration is capable of handling being split in so many directions, I start reading, using the stone hand to turn the pages with my flesh-and-blood hands busy juggling and flipping ten coins.

"Quite creative," Urahara comments, hiding his face behind his fan. I just know he's hiding a shit-eating grin back there.

"I know I look like an idiot," I confide, "but if it's stupid and it works, then it ain't stupid."

"If we add a unicycle, you could become a street performer," Urahara chuckles lightly.

After three hours, I've gained six points in each of my stats except INT (which got five) and WIS, which I can't do anything to reliably raise except think about stuff.

Shaking off the mental cobwebs, I put away the coins and book, allow the training weights and reading table to fall away, create a zombie dungeon, and go straight-up Tallahassee on the poor undead fuckers.

By the time the fifth Legion Zombie of the night bites the dust, I've gained another two levels, and just about all of my skills have gone up by at least five levels. I didn't use Mana Lance very much, since Spiral Spirit Spear does quite a bit more damage with only a tiny bit more mana being used, and my non-combat passive skills didn't get much of a work-out, either.

At the end of the night, I use Energy Sprint to hurry home with a black cat slung across my shoulders like a furry shawl. I was surprised at first that Yoruichi wanted to tag along, but I suppose it must be a hold-over from her time as Onmitsukido captain, to have a thorough mental dossier of everyone who interacts with her little family in exile.

It's only ten by the time we get back, so I cook up some grilled sea bass and some Mexican rice for a late dinner.

"So you really don't know how you got here, then," Yoruichi asks between bites of fish.

"Not a clue," I answer, idly flipping the page of one of my new textbooks (I'd forgotten how much of a pain homework was). "One minute I'm getting plastered by an eighteen-wheeler, next minute I'm blinking stupidly in the park."

"Did you have any family?" is her next question.

I close the book and push the work away, setting up an empty six-by-six ID around my table before pulling out my half-empty tequila bottle and my pouch. I've been forcibly stopping myself from thinking about those I've left behind, but having someone ask so bluntly brings it all to the forefront of my mind.

One thing to know about me is that I don't exactly cope well with misery; I tend to bottle up whatever emotions I can't work through. Gamer's Mind has been helping with that, but I suppose it can't be good for my psyche if I just shove my past life to the wayside, and there's nothing better to help with internal wounds than drinking alcohol and some ganja.

I bring a tumbler and a saucer out and pour us both some tequila, then pack a bowl in my blown-glass pipe, thoroughly glad that my illusion barriers hide scent (my apartment, and Japan in general, is most emphatically _not_ 420 friendly).

I take a quick rip-and-sip, (almost spitting out the tequila when I choke on my first hit in three days), and then begin telling Yoruichi about my family. It's a fairly odd story, since I was raised by my great-grandparents as a youngster before they passed, then lived with my grandparents and younger sisters (with a younger brother adopted out and another living with _his_ grandparents in another state). When I was twenty, I met my father and his wife for the first time with my half-sisters and step-siblings, along with all the uncles, aunts, cousins, and grandparents on _that_ side of the family. Not to mention my small, close-knit circle of friends that I consider family themselves.

I end up smoking the rest of my weed regaling my new drinking buddy with stories of my loved ones, and we finish off the rest of the tequila before midnight. By then, I'm feeling the pleasant combination of cannabinoids and alcohol wreaking their havoc on my brain, and look down at the lone seed on the table.

"Is that from the stuff you were smoking?" Yoruichi asks, gazing at the pod.

"Yep," I answer, pulling out a couple Soul Gems. The final ability Geomancy gave me before maxing out was called Quicksand, which allows me to change one form of earth into another. It sounds like it wouldn't be very useful, but my mind had come up with a dozen ways to utilize it in battle easily enough.

But after finding the seed, I could only think of one thing. I bring out a big bowl, then use Enhanced Quicksand to crush the Soul Gems into rich, crumbly, pink-tinged dirt. Both of the Gems manage to fill up the bowl almost completely, and I push the seed about three inches down into the spirit soil.

"What's that going to do?" Yoruichi inquires. She gives me a skeptical look, which is kind of funny on a feline face.

"Hell if I know," I say honestly. "But it seems like it might do something cool. Hm..." Acting on a sudden urge, I take out one of the health potions and pour it into the bowl. The red liquid is absorbed into the soil remarkably quickly, and the effect is almost too unbelievable for me to comprehend.

The plant sprouts and grows like someone had hit a universal fast-forward button until it's about a foot high and densely branched, with broad leaves and fat little buds. We both gape at the results, and I pat myself on the back for such an ingenious idea (even if I'm ninety percent sure I've read something like this in a fanfiction before).

I water the plant with another health potion, then use two mana potions just to be on the safe side, and by the time I'm done, the plant is easily four feet tall and close to two feet wide with buds the size of ping-pong balls weighing the branches down, shot with deep violet streaks. I have to force myself not to jump up and down, yelling, "YATTA!", because that would just be gratuitous by this point.

One of the reasons I hadn't smoked since I got to this new dimension was that I didn't have a good connect to supply me with my favorite plant, but now that I can grow my own in minutes, I don't think I'll have to worry about running out anytime soon.

Wondering how I'm going to prep all this weed for consumption without getting into heaps of trouble, I pluck one of the flowers. Immediately, it transforms before my eyes, becoming nothing more than a big nug of perfectly-cured weed. Realizing my jaw fell open, I close my mouth and Observe it.

 **[Gaea's Gift Kush (Rank: A little special)/Type: Herb]**  
 **Grown in soil imbued with spiritual energy and fed with magical restorative potions, this weed is truly the dopest dope you will ever smoke.**  
 **+5 WIS, +5 LUK, -5 DEX, -5 INT (Buffs last 1 hr)**  
 **+50 HP, +50 MP**

Well, don't that beat all? Those buffs are pretty on point, and the regenerative properties are just icing on the cake. I can't believe I've just created a magical strain of weed by following a hunch and an idle whim.

Now all I need to do is cajole Urahara to sell me booze and I'll be golden.

Grinning from ear to ear, I break the ID in the kitchen, set my new pungent houseplant on the desk by my bed, clean up a bit, and settle under the covers. Just before my eyes close, I feel Yoruichi jump up and curl up above my head. Talking with her about my loved ones and the discovery of my new source of marijuana was a good experience. I'll have to thank her in the morning.

* * *

Over the next week, I fall into a routine of going to school (mainly to socialize with and befriend the main cast), then to Urahara's to train my skills and experiment in their uses (with some much-appreciated input from the shop's denizens), and finally heading home to unwind and have a few drinks with a cat.

By the time my second Sunday in this world rolls around, getting stronger has become much more difficult. I've not yet surpassed Uryu (who has also been leveling up steadily), but I'm now at level twenty-six, and my stats are hovering around the forty mark, except for DEX and LUK, which are both sitting pretty at forty-nine.

I remember Jee Han gaining an interesting skill from getting his INT up to level fifty, so I'm thinking of raising all of my stats at least that high before I start focusing on one or another exclusively. Plus, I've got nearly a hundred stat points squirreled away so if I absolutely _need_ some points I've got 'em handy.

My skills are coming along nicely, too. Once they hit a certain level, it starts getting a lot harder to level them up, but that's to be expected with diminishing returns and everything. They're still getting pretty hardcore; Energy Sprint alone gives me a _two hundred percent_ increase in my movement speed. It's not on the level of a flash-step, but I'll be damned if it doesn't feel awesome flitting around like a hummingbird on crack.

Another excellent discovery I made is that Geomancy maxes out at level twenty, allowing me the ability to manipulate other earth matter, along with enhanced versions of the previous powers. It also granted me two new skills, True Geomancy and Seismic Sense. While the first isn't much at the moment, with only a single technique (Dust Cloud), I know it'll really show its worth soon enough. Seismic Sense, on the other hand, is one that I'd been waiting to pop up. Being able to sense anyone around me in contact with the ground will be an insanely useful ability, and when combined with Dust Cloud, even airborne foes won't pose as much of a threat.

I've held off on coming up with any new skills, focusing on the ones I have. True Geomancy and Seismic Sense have been the main ones I'm working with. Whenever I take on the zombies, I make sure to close my eyes and use Seismic Sense; it's actually better than my sense of sight in some ways. For one thing, the zombies can't ever sneak up on me, and just using it raises my Earth Affinity mastery. By now, the mana cost for my earth bending skills have been cut in half, which is a definite plus.

At this point, I can take out the Legion Zombie with a few well-placed hits.

I think it's time I bring the Karakura kids into the fold, so to speak. The trick will be how to ease them into it without freaking them out or making them distrust me. I've already built up a friendly rapport with most of them (Uryu is a really anti-social dude, but that's just the pot calling the kettle black and I hate being hypocritical), so asking them to kick it today shouldn't seem too weird.

"Hey, Yoruichi," I say from my spot in front of the stove. "Wanna help me take some teenagers on a bus ride?"

The cat raises an eyebrow, intrigued. "Will there be screaming and mayhem involved?"

"More than likely," I admit, putting the finishing touches on the lunches I've prepared.

"Count me in, then," she replies, stretching lazily. "And grill some tilapia for my lunch, would you?"

Shaking my head in amusement, I do as I'm told, thankful that I stocked the fridge the day before. It's a somewhat interesting position I've found myself in, having more money than I know what to do with. Back home, I had most of the modern amenities, but I never usually had a surplus of cash; normally I'd just spend whatever was left on beer and pot like the degenerate I am. Now that I've got my own incredibly amazing plant and a full liquor cabinet (courtesy of Urahara and his copacetic fake ID-making skills), I'm somewhat at a loss for what to do with all the money I've got. I went out and bought furniture, appliances, kitchenware, and a whole wardrobe, yet I've still got over three million yen burning a hole in my pocket. Maybe I should find a charity to give to?

Shaking those thoughts out of my head, I quickly finish preparing Yoruichi's lunch, then drop the picnic in my Inventory and make a few calls. Luckily, everyone is on board with a day of hanging out; well, I say everyone, but Uryu won't be there since I never really got the chance to properly meet him. Mizuiro won't be there either, begging of with the excuse of having a date later on in the afternoon.

When I've finished with the preparations I head to the park and sit down on a bench near a large fountain. Yoruichi settles down next to me and we share a rice ball while we wait.

Eventually, they all show up. Chad comes first, followed by Tatsuki and Orihime, then Keigo, and finally Ichigo.

"So what's the plan?" Ichigo asks, frowning at Yoruichi while Orihime fawns over my alleged 'pet'.

I scratch at my chin (silently mourning my beard and willing my facial hair to grow faster) and say, "Well, first off I think we should head somewhere a little less public. Like over there," I point to the copse of trees I'd used to train up my stats my third day here.

The kids humor me with various shades of compliance, and when we're out of sight of the main path through the park, I face them. "Alright, now this might feel a little odd, so don't panic."

Before anyone can protest, I call up an empty ID.

Keigo doesn't react at all beyond a look of total confusion. Orihime shivers slightly as the edge of the barrier rushes past her. Chad keeps his face stoic, but I can see his muscles tense in surprise. Ichigo and Tatsuki both frown at me; well, Ichigo's frown deepens a little.

"What the hell was that?" the bright-haired teen growls, visibly holding back a shudder.

"That was me making an illusion barrier so no one bothers us," I explain. "Think of it like a pocket dimension." I pull up some chairs for us and sit down in mine; I've gotten pretty good at shaping the earth, in my opinion, and these chairs are fairly intricate. It's only a matter of time and study before I can make a full-on recliner.

Gaping at the constructs, Keigo darts around his own, poking and prodding at the one beside him. Tatsuki jumps away from hers, eyeing it warily. "How'd you do that?" the karate instructor wonders aloud.

"Take a seat and I'll tell you," I say as soothingly as possible. "It's a bit complicated, and I don't understand half of it myself, so you might as well sit down."

Grudgingly, Tatsuki does so, and after seeing that nothing happens to her, the others follow her lead. I breathe an internal sigh of relief, thanking whoever's listening that they haven't made a fuss yet. Hopefully it lasts.

"So..." I trail off, trying to gather my thoughts. "Um, well, when I got here in Karakura Town, something weird happened to me. When I looked at people, I saw their names floating above their heads with a number next to them, and the abilities of an RPG character."

I allow them a moment to process that. Keigo, naturally, is the one who calls bullshit. "Uh, do you expect us to believe that?" he says mockingly. "Can you believe this guy?" He turns to the others for support. Tatsuki looks like one of her eyebrows is trying to meld into her hair, but Orihime has an intrigued expression on her face, and Chad has adopted a 'thinker' pose. Ichigo's scowl has eased up a little, and is inspecting me like he's never seen me before. "Er...guys?"

"Look, I'll prove it to you," I say, and try the same tactic I used to convince Urahara. "Create party: Level-Up Bus. Invite to Level-Up Bus: Kurosaki Ichigo, Arisawa Tatsuki, Inoue Orihime, Sado Yasutora, Asano Keigo."

The looks on their faces when alert boxes appear in front of them is so priceless I pull out my phone and snap a few pictures to commemorate this occasion.

"Now's the part where you press 'Accept'," I prompt lightly. The five of them hold a silent conversation before Chad, surprisingly, bites the bullet and hits the button. I get a notification that he's joined my party, and the others follow suit. A new window that holds information on the Level-Up Bus members opens up. "Now I'm pretty sure you can access your own character window; just say 'Status', and it should work."

A chorus of, "Status," greets my ears, but I instead focus on the party window to see if they've changed since last time I checked. Tatsuki's made the most progress since last time, with an extra level and her highest stats in the mid-forties, but the others' stats are a little different from what I remember as well. Even Keigo's gotten a few extra points in DEX and INT.

"This is...it's...impossible!" Keigo mutters to himself, running a hand through his hair.

"Not impossible," Orihime corrects him, wonder written plainly on her face. "Amazing."

I give her a grateful smile. "I know it's a lot to take in...I thought I was dreaming for the first couple of hours or so. But it's as real as the nose on my face, and it's kind of neat once you get past the weirdness factor."

Ichigo, who's been quiet since I put up the barrier, looks up above each of his friends' heads before resting on mine; apparently if they're partying with me they can see my tag as well. "So you're the highest level of us all right now," he muses. "That must mean you can do other things with this ability, too, right?"

Grinning, I nod; out of all of them, it's only natural that Ichigo's more accustomed to weird shit, and would adjust quickly. "I'm still figuring this stuff out, but I've created a bunch of skills already. I want to see about something first, though. Yoruichi?"

The main difficulty I foresaw when coming up with this idea is that most of the kids couldn't perceive spirits, which would definitely screw with their ability to use their innate power. Tatsuki and Keigo are also at a disadvantage because they never developed powers of their own in the Bleach canon; I think I remember something about Kubo originally having plans to flesh out all of Ichigo's classmates and give them their own skills, but something or other came up...anyway, I know the basic progression of Orihime's and Chad's abilities so I can help them along, but the other two are complete unknowns. Mizuiro will be in the same boat if he ever decides to come along, too.

Regardless, Yoruichi and I talked it over on the way to the park, and she came up with a pretty simple way to kick-start their growth.

"Hey," Keigo began, noticing the tag on Yoruichi. "That cat's level is a question mark..."

Before he finishes, Yoruichi unleashes a devastating amount of spiritual pressure that drives us all to the ground forcefully. I can barely breathe as what feels like an ocean drops down on me. Several blue boxes appear in front of me, but I can't even blink, let alone lift my arm to wave them away.

Just as I'm rethinking the wisdom behind this plan, Yoruichi reigns in her reiatsu, and I (along with the others) inhale deeply, luxuriating in the simple reassurance of being able to move again. I take a look at the notifications and fight the urge to fist-pump.

 **I see dead people! Through a special action, a new skill, "Spirit Sense", has been created!**

 **Spirit Sense has leveled up!**  
 **Spirit Sense has leveled up!**  
 **Spirit Sense has leveled up!**  
 **Spirit Sense has leveled up!**  
 **Spirit Sense has leveled up!**

Well, it's not an ideal way to learn a new skill, but whatever gets the job done, right?

The kids are recovering from Yoruichi's, ah, _assistance_ more slowly than I am, but they make it to their feet admirably, eyes wide.

"Your cat just floored all of us without even batting an eyelash," Tatsuki gasps, but I shake my head.

"See, that's where you're wrong," I say, gesturing toward the demon in a cat's body. "Yoruichi's likely ten times older than I am, and definitely _isn't_ my pet. Damn feline probably considers _me_ the pet, come to think of it."

"Servant, actually," Yoruichi intones in that insanely deep voice, and the others' eyes nearly pop out of their sockets. "Now that I have your attention, let's begin. Ri-kun, could you show them how to use their energy? I'm going to take a nap now."

I grimace at the nickname she's saddled me with, but soldier on valiantly. "Sounds like a plan. We'll try not to disturb you."

"That cat just talked," Keigo says in a dull monotone; I think his threshold for crazy has been shattered so much in the past ten minutes or so that his brain broke.

"All cats talk," I tell him, smirking. "That one just happens to speak Japanese. But that's not important. So, now that Yoruichi's overdosed you guys with power, I'm gonna teach you how to use it. The first thing you need to do is concentrate on your hand."

I demonstrate, holding my hand out palm-up. They mimic me and stare at their fingers: Ichigo and Tatsuki just glare at their hands, I can't really tell what Chad's eyes are doing, Keigo's face gains an expression not dissimilar to the one I make when I'm constipated, and Orihime scrunches her nose up and frowns adorably at her hand.

"Now I want you to close your eyes and picture your hand. Nothing else, just your hand." Once they do so, I continue, making sure to keep my voice low and unobtrusive. "Breathe in, and out...in, and out...keep that pattern and hold that mental picture of your hand in your mind."

Keigo fidgets a bit, but otherwise they all remain still, falling into a meditative trance as they breathe and focus. "Okay. Add a little point of light to your mental picture, right above your hand. Concentrate, and try to feel the warmth of the little light as you do so."

Unbelievably, this actually works. Orihime is the first one to manifest energy outside of her body, a spark of light hovering over her palm, but the others manage it as well soon enough.

"That's great," I assure them. "Focus on making that little pinprick bigger, and try shaping it into a ball. Get it as big as you can without tiring yourself out."

Slowly, the energy grows in their hands. Keigo's stops growing first, but it's still about the size of a tennis ball. Chad is next to falter, with something about as big as a grapefruit. Orihime, Ichigo, and Tatsuki all have a sphere roughly cantaloupe-shaped. All of them have beads of sweat on their foreheads from maintaining this exercise, but it's a good gauge on their power levels.

"Alright, now open your eyes."

When they see the shining balls of light they're holding, they all react with no small amount of surprise and lose control of their energy and it dissipates into the air. Still, with as much MP as these guys have, they'll be fine without just that.

"Congratulations," I say with a wide smile. "You've just learned how to harness your energy."

"That felt pretty awesome," Tatsuki admits, clenching and unclenching her hand. "It's like a part of myself I never realized was there just...woke up."

Ichigo nodded in agreement, turning to me. "How did you figure all this out? Did the cat help you?"

"I only met Yoruichi a few days ago," I answer. "Actually, I think it was the same day I met you lot. I sort of make it up as I go along and hope for the best, really. Anyway, now that you've got a basic understanding of how to access your mana...er...spirit energy, let's see if we can manifest some cool powers and stuff."

"...and stuff?" Keigo repeats dubiously. "You really are just winging it, aren't you?"

"Yep," I reply glibly.

"What kind of ability do you have?" Chad speaks up for the first time since he got here.

"Well, I've got a sort of mixed bag," I say. "The skill I've been mainly focusing on is called Geomancy, and lately it's evolved form, True Geomancy." I gesture to the chairs I'd made earlier. "But I have a few other skills as well. Like I said, I'm still figuring this all out."

"So what are we supposed to do, then?" Tatsuki asks, forming another ball of reiryoku experimentally. To everyone's surprise (my own included), the spirit energy starts sparking violently and keeps growing exponentially until both her arms are engulfed in a globe of swirling light that flickers between red and gold like a flame.

With a sound like torn steel, the energy solidifies and shrinks down, forming around Tatsuki's forearms and hands to become a pair of shiny metal gauntlets with a trio of red blades on the outer edges, the last ones sweeping past her elbows like jagged wings. A large yellow gem adorns the back of each hand, and smaller ones stud the knuckles on the thick leather half-gloves under the armor.

Keigo's jaw drops, and while the others aren't quite as blatant they look just as surprised as I feel. I had wondered what would happen if I brought some of the peripheral characters from Ichigo's group of friends along, and apparently it's this.

"Tatsuki-chan, that's so cool!" Orihime is the first to recover, and darts forward to inspect the armor more closely. "It's like if Batman and Iron Man met and saw each other's gloves and were like, 'We should totally collab on some armor'!"

It's an odd way to put it, but really does give an apt description of Tatsuki's new accessories. The girl in question seems a little stunned by the sudden appearance of her ability; she keeps clenching her hands while staring at them with a detached sense of curiosity.

Then she punches out and a little burst of fire scythes out of the knuckle-jewels, and I briefly worry about Keigo's eyes actually dropping out of their sockets. A delighted grin stretches the dark-haired teen's face, and she flows into what I guess is a karate form that brings an interesting pattern of tiny blazes into being.

"This is in _credible_!" she laughs when she stops, turning to look at something off to the side. "Hey, Rick-san, there's another window in front of me that says I learned a new skill."

My eyebrows raise on their own as I process her words. That's a little odd...I had assumed that they'd be able to see the windows I pulled up and vice-versa, but apparently not. "What does it say?"

Tatsuki frowns briefly as she reads through the description. "It's called Dragon's Peak," she says. "It's an persistent skill that boosts my STR by ten and my physical attack damage by two a hundred percent. Then there's something called a Fire Affinity and a special attack called Sun Claws."

 _What?_ Those are amazing abilities, and at level one no less!

I glance pensively toward Yoruichi, who has been watching carefully despite what she'd said earlier, but she rolls her shoulders placidly and continues to lay on a tree branch so I figure it won't be too dangerous to see what comes of the others following suit.

"You guys wanna try that too and see what happens?" I ask the others.

Orihime immediately pulls more of her power to her hands, but rather than form a large ball like before, it splashes out in six distinct slivers that dart to and fro before sinking into those hair clips of hers. Her eyes widen at what I guess are her notifications and pokes at the air excitedly.

"Mine's Six Flowers of the Hibiscus Shield," she informs us brightly, clapping her hands together. "It's says it's a passive skill with lots of cool effects, and they're shaped like fairies! All my stats get plus two, and I get a ten percent increase in something called mana recharge rate?"

She turns her big eyes inquiringly to me, and I explain, "That means your energy recovers more quickly after you use it." Nodding, she returns to staring at nothing.

"It also has three abilities," she continues after a moment. "The Solitary Sacred Cutting Shield, the Twin Sacred Return Shield, and the Three Sacred Links Shield, and each one does something different. My ability is so awesome!" She calls out the little pixie things that personify her ability and proceeds to tune the rest of us out in favor of greeting them.

I share a glance with the guys and shrug. "Guess you're up?"

Ichigo, Chad, and Keigo all do their thing, but nothing special happens. I frown in thought; I'd have figured that at least Ichigo and Chad might have something happen. Maybe it's an experience thing? But if Orihime managed it, and she's lower level than both of them...I force myself to put off overthinking this. We'll figure it out.

Clapping a disappointed Keigo on the shoulder, I say, "Don't worry; it'll come in time. Instead, I'll show you guys how to enhance your body with spirit energy."

"And what'll that do?" Ichigo inquires.

"All sorts of cool stuff," I gush, unable to contain my enthusiasm. It's one thing to talk about it with Urhara and Yoruichi and Tessai, but these guys are actually able to do the same things I can.

We practice for another two hours or so, at which point I bring out the food and we have ourselves a picnic in the park. With my help, the kids have all learned Energy Sprint, Super Jump, and Dodge. They've also gotten the ID skills and Energy Bolt from having Yoruichi and I basically unlock their spiritual energies, but we haven't gotten into practicing that yet.

On the other hand, I managed to pick up a few more levels in the skills I imparted upon them, as well as a pretty sweet new skill.

 **Hey, teacher, leave those kids alone! Through a special action, a new skill, "Instruction", has been created!**

I can't teach any skills that I don't have at least a skill mastery of ten in, but that's not really much of a hurdle since the only skills I've _not_ ground up to that level are Mana Lance, True Geomancy, and my newly acquired Spirit Sense. While Mana Lance might be a pretty good skill to have for them, they've got around the same experience with Spirit Sense that I do, and there's no way I'm teaching anyone Geomancy or its evolved state. They'll be passing me up in a few months' time anyway; I need all the advantages I can scrounge together.

After the break, we continue with the grind-session until dark. I managed to talk Kurosaki Isshin into letting Ichigo stay out with us a little past dark over the phone (in return for having dinner at the clinic the following night so I've got _that_ to look forward to), and Tatsuki and Keigo got permission from their parents, so without further ado, I raise my hand to the sky and call out, "ID Create: Zombies!"

The Karakura kids are standing close, so I manage to catch the shudder that goes up all their spines when the first zombie's howl reaches their ears.

"Remember," I remind them with a quick, reassuring grin. "Don't panic." The zombies start to slowly shuffle toward us, and I raise a few short mazes of stone to filter them toward us single-file. "Now, get ready to hit 'em when they come through that opening."

There's a moment of breathless anticipation before an odd noise that sounds a bit like rocks being crushed to bits emanating through the maze. I cock my head to the side, curious and anxious. Nothing like this has happened to me so far, but I suppose there's always a first time for anything.

Then, a zombie with incredibly toned musculature smashes straight through the wall a few feet from the entrance I'd made in the maze, followed by about a dozen others. With a quick Observe, I realize that my zombie dungeon seems to have undergone some sort of mutation.

 **Super Zombie Lv 18**  
 **HP: 1800(1800) MP: 250**  
 **The walking corpse of a very powerful human. It hates the living, attacking and eating their flesh. The training it underwent when alive has removed the cumbersome movements normally present in the undead, and its strength is four times what it had been while alive.**

Vaguely, I can recall going up against Super Zombies in at least two Resident Evil games as a kid, perhaps The Gamer is drawing upon my knowledge to come up with new stuff? I suppose it makes as much sense as anything I've encountered since I died.

I only get a few moments to take stock of this new enemy before the one who broke through the maze suddenly leaps high into the air, nearly on par with my own Super Jump skill, and the other ones follow suit with a collective roar of fury.

Without missing a beat, I pull on the earth in front of me, forming deadly sharp daggers and infuse them with power before letting them fly.

Just about all of them hit their targets and I detonate the Boom Blades with a clenched fist. Explosions rock the ground, and the shock wave pushes against my balance, but I don't really feel it since I'm focused on making sure those bastards won't be getting up again.

Charred, smoking husks fall to the ground heavily, though several of them actually get up. Snarling, I force the ground to swallow them up and grind them to unsavory paste.

"So..." I say, turning to the kids, who are staring at me with a new glint of emotion in their eyes. "I think these guys might be a little too much for you at the moment."

"I'm pretty sure we don't have a choice," Ichigo replies, jerking his chin behind me. I glance over my shoulder and see a veritable horde of undead with the occasional Super Zombie mixed in with the lot.

"Well," I manage to say in a strangled voice, "shit."

* * *

 **After-Action Report:** So first and foremost, I'm wondering how my readers think about Tatsuki's power. To take a Fullbringer term, her ability is a Raiment-type, which will gain more pieces as it evolves, like sabatons and things like that. She's basically a firebender with chunks of metal to enhance her strikes. I'm not sure what Keigo's ability will be, if he ever even develops one. I had Tatsuki's power show up first because I figured that, having been friends with Ichigo for most of their lives, she'd have absorbed quite a bit of his stupidly large reserves.

Ichigo, Chad, and Keigo didn't get any powers at this point in time because their abilities will manifest later on, maybe in a chapter or so?

SI's ability to use Geomancy (and now True Geomancy, which will take much longer to master) to create items will have much more significance later on, since that's how he'll be making his signature weapons. Those weapons are more or less fleshed out, with their abilities and buffs all settled except for a few things, and I'd like to think that it'll be a good way for someone with The Gamer ability to stand up to (or at least not die horribly) against the kind of enemies the Bleach universe can throw his way.

Also, the idea to use the Health Potions on a plant to make it grow belongs to the marvelous **stewart92** , whose fanfic _Spirit of the Gamer_ , is one of the main reasons I even started this story. So thank you, **stewart92** , for allowing me the use of your wonderful idea!

You can ask me about anything I failed to elaborate on or didn't address in a PM or review, as always. Thanks to everyone who favorited, followed, and/or reviewed; I love you all from the bottom of my heart...but totally no homo, guys.

Happy Merry New ThanksChristmaHannuKwanzakah to everyone, and have a nice day!


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